Dear father, I shall do just as you have requested! I shall keep a record of all my adventures in the west. I know that you always made it a priority to emphasize the importance of record-keeping during my youth. Upon arriving in Rivendell, I beheld the legends of that place to be true! Too many trees and not enough infrastructure! But the free food easily made up for any apparent lack of infrastructure. Overall I very much enjoyed my stay. I am considering investing in one of the forges there, as while the rest of their infrastructure is subpar; their forges and workbenches are actually quite excellent. They may be perfect for our business operation. In any event, I met two elves during my time in Rivendell. The first elf goes by a name I cannot remember even if to save my beard. So I took to calling her simply “Miriel”. She was a Noldor elf with a great deal of history. And what’s more, she is a jewelsmith! A Noldor jewelsmith! Just what we need! I intend to propose a business deal with her…but I suspect she may be a little too proud to accept it. Durin knows it was already difficult enough to get Thorgonsi, one of our own, to do it. But it is certainly worth a try!
But the second elf I met…her name I certainly can remember! Her name is Linglorel. She is a wood elf of Mirkwood who thankfully lived a very isolated life…so as not to know about what happened to me with the guards in Felegoth. Thank Durin! At first I took Linglorel to be a complete idiot. I was seized by the temptation to sell her some of my wares under the previous branding scheme…but I swore by your beard I would not be doing that again. We don’t want a repeat of that incident. But Linglorel proved to be much smarter than she looked. But I also met a hobbit of all people! A hobbit adventurer no less. Just like Bilbo! Her name is Passerose. And she is kind and generous…perhaps too much so for her own good. Well, I persuaded Linglorel and Passerose to help defend my caravan for free under the pretense that I was transporting your remains. But the ruse would prove to be unnecessary, as these two fools found a way into my cold, golden heart.
We travelled far, through the pathless Trollshaws and the forsaken roads of the Lone-lands. Linglorel had a habit of giving moral lectures and singing songs. I think I much prefer the songs. And Passerose proved to be a mighty warrior, she took down a troll by herself! Yet she never boasts of it. But we then arrived in Bree, where I met with Thorgiri. You surely remember Thorgiri! Our family has done much business with him. Well, of course I had to greet him as old friends do, but he also warned us of the dangers of the road and made a request. We were to deliver a message to a hobbit named Adso Haybank: if he does not repay his debts by the end of the week, Thorgiri will be doubling his interest rate. Ah nothing like the matter of extorting finances from surface-dwellers to excite the heart of a Dwarf! But Linglorel and Passerose did not share my enthusiasm needless to say. And when we finally go to Adso’s Camp, they persuaded me to go back to Thorgiri and beseech him to grant Adso another week to pay off his debts. Absurd, isn’t it!
I resisted their pleas all I could, but when I saw how upset both Linglorel and Passerose were getting upon my insistence that he repay his debts according to the terms he agreed to…my heart melted. I felt a sorrow I had not felt in years! I realized that I actually liked them! I enjoyed their company. It was then I realized these two surface-dwelling fools to be more than just idiots to deceive. They were meant to be proper business partners! Or as Linglorel likes to call it…”friends”. So that is the exact moment they became my friends. So in the first tavern we stopped by in the Shire, I bought them both drinks (an unfortunate but necessary expense) and made my proposition. Hopefully you will be hearing more of my two foolish companions and their moral lectures much more from now on. After much more travelling we made it to Ered Luin.
And upon entering those lands we met a guard from Thorin’s Hall, one of our kin. His name was Thordralin. He asked us a few questions as to ascertain our identity, and then offered to escort our caravan to Thorin’s Hall. Given he was both kin and the imminent threat of goblin raids, I readily agreed to his offer. And he proved to be delightful company! Let the hospitality and generosity of the Dwarves of the Blue Mountains never be questioned again! But after another great distance we finally arrived to Thorin’s Hall. And I should say these halls aren’t so bad! Nothing like the majesty of Erebor…but I would say it equals the Iron Hills in splendor. Thordralin then gave us all a brief tour, and even bought everyone drinks. He even offered a place for Linglorel and Passerose to stay the night…for no charge! I’ve got to teach Thordralin the ways us Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain do business!
In any event, that was my first adventure in Eriador. The forges in Thorin’s Hall are quite excellent, if not quite equal to those in Erebor. But unfortunately, I’m assuming because of the distinct lack of gold and gems in the Blue Mountains, the workbenches of Thorin’s Hall are far below our usual standard. It is almost shameful. So that being said, it is going to be quite costly to build a proper production facility here, more costly than I had initially anticipated. Aside from matters of business, I intend to locate the house in which you were born. It would be quite the honor to witness where the Gembeard family fortune began to grow once again after its exile from the Lonely Mountain.
