Chapter 11: Imtarumbar

As dawn broke and suggestive shadows seemed to flee back with the onset of light, everyone roused themselves from their uncomfortable sojourn in the hallway. Ranciryon, who had been last on watch, addressed his questfellows. Apparently, he had thought much on his lonely watch.
"I feel more than ever, that my disquiet over departing so quickly from the pool was warranted. Mayhap that pool shall answer many questions and also provide us with the power to defeat this evil. I pledge to thee, my companions, that I shall never leave this place standing. I shall stand or fall here and with the love of Eru and our strength we shall be victorious against this horror, and once defeated I shall endeavor to destroy utterly the remains of this manor to obliterate this horror. We should take heart, though, and use our minds. For these powerful gifts have been presented to us. Here in this chamber may we find rest, secondly, as this tome points out we may travel amongst these halls in relative peace, thirdly we have much knowledge about this place otherwise in this tome, and finally, we have perhaps knowledge that they did not have, that being the location of a pool of great power.
So rest my friends, with these gifts and our heart, shalt we fail. Nay,
I say not. This house has found in us its match. Bravery and wisdom shall carry us."
With that Ranciryan lapsed once more into silence.
Kal meanwhile turned to the others, saying, "OH MOM!! Don't tell me Ironman is now free!!?? (argh!) I think we would better FLEE! Maybe if that mirrors work we can escape hastily from this cursed place!"
Ordain tapped Daern on the shoulder. "Daern, my apologies for being so stubborn." Turning to address the rest of the party, "I agree with Kal, leaving this haunted place would be in our best interests. We have Lord Tarma's son, and his safe return should be our priority. Now that a new day has arrived, and we are all accounted, departure seems our best course of action. What say you all?"
Tirion waved over to Ranciryon. "Brave knight, I was unconscious due to my wounds. What pool do you speak of?"
Realizing that he had never told the others of his journey, Ranciryon gave them much the same speech as he had already told Kal and Eoras.
"I fell through the floor and then I remember nothing until I came to my senses. I was in a small room. I remember the floor was made of naked rock and was very cold. In the room there was a pool of a kind of shimmering or glowing water. Above it, floating like a dream, was a blue clad young maiden. I remember that her face seemed sad. Before I was able to speak to her, she made a gesture across her arm and then pointed below her at the pool above which she was floating. Then a savage wind entered the room though the one apparent door into the place was shut. It was as if the wind shredded her and she disappeared with a scream. I remember that scream very well.
Kal has told me that she was probably the same apparition who appeared to both Fred and Tirion outside in the forest.
Not knowing what to make of this, I chose to leave the room and found myself in a corridor, perpendicular to the doorway. I chose to go left and I began to descend a turning stairway. I counted 333 steps and then came to a landing where there was a great stout door. This very wide door was barred and chained and nailed. It was obvious that a great effort had been taken to keep it shut. Whatsmore, there were runes carved into its surface all over. I think they were carved. Perhaps they were burned into the wood."
"I did not know what to do. I decided to return, seeing no egress from that point. Once again at the top, I paused and took a meal. Then I continued on through a sort of zig zag corridor, where there were many doors, most of which were locked. I did find one door unlocked. Inside, there were a great number of dead bodies. I should say bodies that were not alive, but they were animate somehow. Some where skeletons, some were shredded rags of flesh, but they all moved and their greatest concentration seemed was at a darkly glowing stone on the far side of the room. It looked like a great round globe, like the palantiri of Feanor. About this stone were gathered what I took to be dead knights, bowed in their armour as if in prayer to the stone. Feeling a great dread I quickly left that room until I could find aid to face its denizens."
"Next, I came upon another corridor where there were two more doors. In one, there was a grate in it's top to give a view, but all beyond was stale darkness, yet I sensed that something waited in that room and the stillness was but a pregnant silence, as of something waiting to be born. Not wishing to enter there, I came through the other door, which led me to a roundish room with queer planks set into the side. Examining these planks, I found this part of the room to be a door and pushing it revealed that the planks were steps leading down. Coming out, I saw that the room was a great cask of some sort and that is how I found myself where Eoras and Kal found me. And there too, impaled upon the hooks in that awful room, were more rendered bodies, writhing in the agony that grips the dead of this place.
Eoras, who had heard all this already, was busy examining the Ironman, once again frozen into its statue form, immovable and waiting. Turning to this, he addressed the others,
"Well, what do we do now?"
Ranciryon looked at Kal and Ordain, "Well, going against suggestions that we leave this place, at least today, I say we retrace our way back to the pool. I just think that there is something there that can aid us."
"I hate to say this, but I am without food," Ordain confessed to the others. "I was wondering if any of you could spare me some?"
Taurvantar also chimed in at this point, looking tired and a little haggard from his ordeal, "I too need some food. Perhaps after I've rested for a bit, we can search out this library that Englorion spoke of. Perhaps in conjunction with visiting Ranciryon's pool."
Just then, Fred appeared from the room under the stairway that Taurvantar had found earlier. The look on his little face suggested that he was very proud of himself.
"Well, gentlemen and elves," he addressed the party, "It seems that I have found a secret passage that was overlooked before. It seems to be a narrow stairway, leading both down and up. Now, I also want to show you this book that I found in the room where both I and Taurvantar were attacked. Who would care to take a look at it?"
While others went to look at the passage way, confirming that they had indeed overlooked a hidden stairway leading off the hidden room, Ordain remained behind to examine the book with Fred, while Tirion and Taurvantar remained behind.

Ordain scanned quickly through the book. "It's in Adunaic," he announced. "It seems to be a journal of one called Mendakhor, who was a steward for the imTar family. He makes a big fuss in the prologue about his fathers and their fathers serving the imTars since the early days of Numenor."
Ordain flipped through some more pages.
"It seems that Mendakhor and the imTars were from Numenor itself, and were granted this land by the King of Numenor. They and the others who founded Imtarumbar were colonists from Numenor."
Ordain flipped through some more pages.
"Just a lot of stuff dealing with supplies and wine rations. Hmm,"
Something having caught his eye, Ordain read silently.
Fred tugged at his robe. "Hey there Dunedain, how about sharing with us."
"Oh, sorry," Ordain apologized. "It seems that Lord Koranthur had a son called Kamraith, who was killed fighting in southern Endor. Following the fashion of the King of Numenor, which it seems Mendakhor didn't approve of, Lord Koranthur had taken his sister as wife. Hers is the other portrait that graces the foyer. Besides Kamraith, Koranthur and his sister-wife Almarion had a daughter named Ellenya. She was a troublesome child, according to Mendakhor, who was strong willed and rebellious. She had to be forced into a marriage with Kamraith, who Ellenya seemed to despise. After he was killed, it looked like the imTar line was going to die out since Almarion no longer received Koranthur into her bed. Oh my," Ordain paused again while reading on.
Fred had to resort to tugging on the Dunedain's robe once again.
"Oh sorry. Looks like Mendakhor suspected his lord and master, Koranthur of trying to foist some unwanted attentions on Ellenya."
Ordain closed the book.
"That's it?" Fred asked.
Ordain shrugged. "Mendakhor, it seems, believing himself duly sworn to serve the imTar family, didn't feel it was right to continue his journal. He felt that by writing it, he was passing judgement on the family. The rest of it is just more figures about supplies and accounts."

When the others had returned, everyone set about discussing what to do next.

x.p. award: Eoras 25, Fred 500, Kal 250, Ordain 250, Ranicryon 250 Taurvantar 250, none

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