Vinyalonde

This day a Council meeting was held to hear an account of the actions of Estarfin, formerly Sergeant-at-Arms of the Order of the Hammer, so that we could hear what was done, and why it was done, and give our recommendations to Lord Anglachelm.

As Uilossiel and Tancamir rode into Mithlond, the afternoon sunlight glimmered upon the pale stone buildings rising on either side of the thoroughfare. The cloudless sky was reflected in the bay that could be seen to the west, busy now with boats dotting the water and moving to and fro from the quays. Uilossiel smiled up at the white gulls circling the silver spires of Mithlond, thinking to herself that their calls were like a beautiful, solemn song.

Arriving at his chambers, Parnard found Estarfin sitting in his usual place, a deep arm-chair, staring at the fire. The room was fitted up in a style of elegant splendour, containing many fine pictures and a gilt bird cage, empty of any occupant. Parnard had come home one day to find his twittering songbird dead, and he had not the heart to get another, nor could he bring himself to remove the golden cage.

"Thou thinkest but of one thing at a time. I wish my master would do the same, for he is not one jot wiser for mixing up so many things together, like his cloaks hung upon the doors with his robes, clean and dirty all mixed up, everything heaped up over itself  -"

Losshell strode into the room and gawped at Parnard.

The past few days had been a glorious blur as Uilossiel and her brother set out from Imladris, riding west at a steady but unhurried pace towards Lindon. All around them the budding leaves waved upon the branches, veiling the once - bare wood in a layer of translucent green. Uilossiel fancied she could even hear a laughing music in each fresh brook they passed, newly sprung from the melting snows of the Hithaeglir. As they passed west of the Bruinen, the trees grew more dense and the undergrowth more abundant.

Next morning I returned to the Hall of Fire and met with a very hearty welcome. Sogadan had reserved some cake from the previous night's table, and he observed it would be more plentiful had I visited him sooner, but I did my duty to what was left.

My lord,

The spiders of the Greenwood possess a venom which contains a potent toxin that disables sense of feeling in the limbs and extremities. The venom of selected species is also  capable of inducing necrosis in the area around the bite. These include ...

Not a trace was left of the scout that disappeared, except a few drops of blood on the snow.

A hasty answer was, therefore, required to this urgent message. Lord Ambassador Parnard leaned back in his chair and gazed up at the ceiling for several minutes before reading the message again. He liked to avoid hasty answers whenever he could: they often resulted in errors of judgment.

This day I went to the market and met Norliriel.