"I hope to obtain some clues about the Star of Elendil. My family's records tell me that it was last worn by the common High King of the Númenóreans, the great King Isildur. I believe the all-powerful Lord Saruman will surely be able to give me a satisfactory answer."
As he spoke, Allen looked at Saruman with absolute confidence, for he knew that the gem lay quietly in a secret chamber in Orthanc.
"No! I know nothing about it!"
Saruman denied it with a slightly flustered expression. This was his secret alone. Recovering the High King's body from the Golden Iris Marshes had kept him excited for a long time. Before he had even confirmed whether the Ring was on the corpse, the White Wizard had executed every one of the Mercenaries waiting to collect their bounty, lest word reach those who should not know.
Naturally, the Ring had not been on Isildur's body, but Saruman had not come away empty-handed. He had indeed found the Kingdom of Arnor's treasured heirloom, the Star of Elendil, on the corpse. Yet compared with the One Ring, its power was like a firefly beside the bright moon. Besides, what Saruman had done was hardly something he could tell anyone about, so the treasure could only lie gathering dust in his secret chamber.
Even now that Allen had brought the matter up to his face, Saruman could not possibly admit that he had found Isildur's body. After all, Elrond was sitting right over there. Rivendell had always sheltered the descendants of the Kingdom of Arnor. Saruman had found their heirloom and had not said a word about it to this day. That was hardly how a comrade in the struggle against darkness should behave.
Sure enough, Allen's words instantly caught Elrond's attention. The Lord