Chapter Summaries

Hollimion’s squad retreated from the Armory after hearing a faint, terrifying breathing sound in the darkness, while Allen provoked a renewed conflict between two Half-orc factions to create an opportunity to recover a Dwarven battle axe and claim more mithril. The chapter ended as Blackface arrived with his warriors, forcing Fimbul’s faction toward battle.

• Hollimion heard faint breathing on the stairs to the Armory and ordered his squad to retreat, leaving the exploration unfinished.
• Hollimion returned to the First Hall and found Allen gone while Noldor Rangers moved their gathered supplies out of Moria.
• Allen shot two Half-orcs near a concealed passage, killing one and wounding the other, then escaped to provoke the factions into fighting.
• Fimbul questioned whether to retaliate, but his Half-orcs grew furious and demanded battle.
• Blackface arrived with his warriors, and Fimbul’s faction prepared to fight.

Blackface defeated Fimbul and ended the struggle for Moria, while Allen recovered the Axe of Durin and decided to continue toward the Balrog. After seeing the sleeping creature stir and settle back down, Allen concluded it was not yet time to confront it.

• Blackface attacked Fimbul's forces, and Fimbul surrendered, ending the fighting for control of Moria.
• Allen returned the Axe of Durin to Dáin, who recognized the Dwarven heirloom and reacted with excitement.
• Hollimion told Allen about the strange breathing in the Armory, and Allen identified it as a sleeping Balrog.
• Allen decided to continue exploring Moria, both to gather more mithril and to assess the Balrog for himself.
• Allen went alone toward the Armory, saw the Balrog open its fiery eyes and shift before falling asleep again, and decided not to approach it yet.

Allen and his companions gathered mithril in Moria until a horn woke the Balrog, forcing them to flee. Allen drew the creature away from the escape route and attacked it as his followers carried the treasure to safety.

• Dáin, Óin, and Ori chose mithril armor while Allen’s Noldor Rangers packed ingots into crates.
• Allen prepared to lure the Balrog toward the Bridge of Khazad-dûm while his forces guarded the retreat.
• A horn sounded, the Balrog woke, and Allen ordered his companions to run with the mithril.
• Allen drew the climbing Balrog away from the stairway by insulting it, and the creature chased him.
• Allen fired two Chain Lightning bolts at the Balrog as the Twilight Knights loosed six frost-powered arrows.

Allen and his companions fought their way through Moria while the Balrog pursued them, forcing them to flee toward the Khazad-dûm Bridge. The Balrog reached the bridge behind them, and Allen unleashed his newly mastered Tranquil Rain as his last resort.

• Allen paralyzed the Balrog with Chain Lightning, sent his men ahead, and attacked the demon before it knocked him back and shattered his shield.
• The Balrog fell into the abyss but climbed back up, while Blackface and Fimbul rallied the Half-orcs to pursue the intruders.
• Allen caught up with his companions and led them into the Second Hall, where the Elves were holding back waves of Half-orcs.
• Allen charged out of the passage and regrouped with his men as the Balrog entered the Second Hall, then ordered everyone to flee across the bridge.
• Hollimion deflected the Balrog's whip with his shield as Allen reached the far side, and Allen unleashed Tranquil Rain over the pursuing Balrog.

Allen trapped the Balrog with Tranquil Rain and frost arrows, then led his expedition out of Moria and back to Lothlórien. After resting and thanking Galadriel and Celeborn for their help, he prepared to return to Fisslet.

• Allen used Tranquil Rain to weaken the Balrog, and his Noldor Elves froze the demon with a volley of frost arrows.
• Allen led his party out of Moria as the Balrog broke free and sent Half-orcs after them, but white mist slowed the pursuers and drove them back.
• Allen reached Haldir's outpost at the Golden Wood, rested, and gave mithril gifts to Haldir and the Galadhrim.
• Allen met Arwen and then described Moria and his struggle with the Balrog to Galadriel and Celeborn without explaining his powers in detail.
• Allen gave Galadriel and Celeborn mithril armor, jewelry, and ingots, and they gave him the methods for making Miruvor and Lembas.
• Allen finished his visit to Lothlórien and prepared to return to Fisslet.

Allen returned to Fisslet from Moria, divided the recovered mithril and heirlooms with the Dwarves, and began arranging the Skin-changers’ migration while helping Ymira with state affairs. The chapter ended with loggers clearing part of Mirkwood to prepare a manor for the migrating Skin-changers.

• Allen’s company traveled home through Eowya’s Village and the Old Ford, where they saw prosperous farms and guarded smithies.
• Allen settled the spoils with Dáin, Óin, and Ori, dividing the mithril, returning Dwarven heirlooms, and keeping the remaining armor.
• Allen rested in Fisslet and helped Ymira with state affairs while Jeremus took on some of the Prime Minister’s duties.
• Allen planned to have Beorn’s people cultivate the ingredients for Miruvor and Lembas, and he continued preparations for the Skin-changers’ migration.
• In Mirkwood, loggers guarded by soldiers began clearing trees and roots to make a suitable site for the Skin-changers’ manor.

Allen and Beorn arranged for the Skin-changers to settle in Mirkwood in exchange for guarding the border, and visited the early construction sites for their homes. Allen left Noldor Rangers to watch for nearby enemies as he returned home.

• Beorn told Allen that Grim and Klethi could marry once their home was built, and Allen agreed to bless them and provide a dowry.
• The Skin-changers unanimously accepted Allen’s offer of land in Mirkwood in exchange for border service, and Beorn and Ymira organized the migration plans.
• Allen and Beorn inspected the construction sites for Grim and Klethi’s home and Wulf’s family home, while work on the other two homes was scheduled for winter.
• Half-orcs, wargs, and Great Spiders watched the lumberjacks but fled deeper into the forest when Allen arrived with his Personal Guards.
• After Hollimion reported that enemies were nearby, Allen left the Noldor Rangers to scout and guard the construction sites before setting off for home.

Allen worried that Sauron might discover Gollum in Mordor, so he focused on strengthening Rhovanion and protecting the Shire while arranging to settle herders near the Grey Mountains. Thorin reluctantly agreed to rebuild Fram's Fortress, but insisted that its name be changed.

• Allen considered rescuing Gollum from Mordor but abandoned the plan, fearing that an expedition would draw Sauron's attention.
• Allen urged Aragorn to establish a kingdom in the north and planned to strengthen Rhovanion while keeping the Ring's existence secret.
• Allen prepared five hundred young men from Horse-herding Village to settle near the Langwell and Greylin after Dwarves restored Fram's Fortress.
• Thorin grew angry when he read Allen's request because Fram's Fortress recalled an ancient feud over the dragon Scatha's treasure.
• Thorin sent Dori and a party of Dwarves to the Langwell and dispatched Kili to Fisslet, while demanding that Fram's Fortress be given a new name.

Allen arranged support for the Dwarves rebuilding Fram's Fortress and developed Mountain-Pattern Armor for his cavalry, then set out through Fisslet to recruit retired Mettenheim Death Swordfighters to train armor smiths. His walk brought him to a gathering where Marnid approached with information about the Durin Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain.

• Allen sent Baren north with infantry and archers to secure Fram's Fortress and transport supplies, while Alice led nearly a hundred female Mounted Scouts to provide reconnaissance.
• Allen and five Dwarves completed a suit of Mountain-Pattern Armor, but the slow pace of production threatened his goal of equipping five hundred Khergits.
• Allen decided to ask the ten retired Mettenheim Death Swordfighters to train smiths, and planned to visit them in person while walking around town.
• Allen left Winterry Castle and greeted the people and protected bees gathered in the square, where the bees formed a gesture of thanks to him.
• Marnid approached Allen and sought a chance to discuss information about the Durin Dwarves of the Lonely Mountain.

While walking through Fisslet at night, Allen learned that Thar’s Dwarven shop had been selling cheap jewelry that was unusually popular. Allen discovered that one brass ring carried powerful magic, then ordered Marnid to secretly investigate how many residents had bought it.

• Marnid told Allen that Thar had begun selling cheap copper jewelry six months earlier, and each new batch sold out without a price increase.
• Marnid showed Allen a brass ring set with a black gemstone, and Allen felt an overwhelming urge to put it on and keep it.
• Allen broke free of the ring’s influence with the help of his qi, memories of Gollum, and his willpower, then concealed his reaction from Marnid.
• Allen ordered Marnid to find Klethi and secretly determine how many subjects had bought the jewelry.
• Allen went to a tavern with several Personal Guards to meet veterans and continue arranging the armor forging.

Allen recruited the Mettenheim Death Swordfighters to train smiths in making armor and discovered that a Black Gem necklace had been intended for Ymira, though the plot had failed. He suspected Sauron was spreading greed through enchanted jewelry and set countermeasures in motion, including training cavalry and baiting Thar to reveal his supplier.

• Allen met the ten Mettenheim Death Swordfighters at the Spear and Lance Tavern, and they agreed to teach smiths to make metal armor plates and rivet Mountain-Pattern Armor within six months.
• Allen examined Thar’s necklace and concluded that its Black Gem could spread greed, but Ymira had avoided the plot because she wore the necklace Allen had given her instead.
• Allen suspected Sauron was using the jewelry to prepare a larger scheme and arranged for Marnid and Klethi to monitor affected residents without alerting the enemy.
• Messengers rode to Horse-herding Village to gather five hundred herders, whom Allen intended to train with the twenty Gryphon Knights.
• A caravan leader posing as a member of the Buttercup family bought Thar’s jewelry and requested a large order, serving as bait in Marnid’s sting operation to uncover the supplier.

Allen investigated Thar’s suspicious jewelry business and discovered that Black Gem ornaments had helped Sauron’s followers establish more than a dozen secret societies in Fisslet. After Thar left for a hidden cave near Mirkwood, Allen found a possible way to address the crisis, while the Dwarf entered the cave and met several unkempt Dwarves.

• Thar sent a raven to the Lonely Mountain, then spent several days keeping his shop clean while Allen’s people watched him.
• Allen received a report that over a thousand residents wore Black Gem jewelry and that Sauron’s followers had formed more than a dozen secret societies in Fisslet.
• Allen worried that a mass arrest could provoke bloodshed and alienate his soldiers, but after speaking with Ymira and holding Andrea, he thought of a possible approach.
• At dusk, Thar drove two ponies toward Mirkwood, and Allen suspected he was going to meet the person behind the scheme.
• Thar reached a concealed cave in a hillside near Mirkwood, used an unusual key to open its hidden door, and went inside, where several Dwarves lived.

Thar returned from a secret cave carrying valuable cargo and learned about Allen’s invitation-only birthday celebration for Princess Andrea. Allen used the celebration to gather residents affected by the Black Gem’s magic, while testing that Tranquil Rain could free Bunduk from its influence.

• Thar emerged from the cave with cargo, and his hidden observer marked the concealed entrance before reporting back toward Fisslet.
• Thar heard that residents might be invited to Winterhold for Princess Andrea’s birthday, but learned that only people living inside the city qualified.
• Asudan delivered Allen’s invitation to Thar, who gladly accepted the chance to attend the celebration in three days.
• Allen gave Bunduk the Black Gem necklace to test its influence, and Bunduk found himself unable to obey the order to remove it.
• Allen used Tranquil Rain to purge the Black Gem’s influence from Bunduk, confirming that the magic could be overcome.
• Allen planned to invite affected residents to Winterhold by using the birthday celebration to identify them across the city.

Allen used a banquet invitation to gather residents bewitched into worshipping Morgoth while his forces hunted down the Númenórean Loyalists responsible for spreading the faith. After the guests arrived at the Castle, Allen appeared armed beneath a darkening, lightning-filled cloud and announced that the city faced a disaster.

• The banquet list named more than a thousand seemingly random guests, most of whom were unaware they had been bewitched.
• Allen's Twilight Knights and female Rangers tracked the black-clad Loyalist preachers and killed or captured them before they could mobilize their followers or ignite fires.
• Hollimion led the Twilight Knights toward Thar's secret base to investigate and destroy it, while the invited guests headed to Winterhold.
• Allen prepared the brightly lit Castle for the banquet, and the bewitched guests arrived without suspecting anything was wrong.
• Allen appeared armed on the tower balcony, announced that the city faced a disaster, and a storm cloud filled with lightning gathered over the Castle.

Allen denounced Morgoth and tried to free the people of Fisslet from the magic in their jewelry, but a mass of black smoke gathered and defied his lightning. Meanwhile, Hollimion’s Twilight Knights broke into Thar’s secret base and fought its Dark Dwarf defenders, leaving Hollimion facing their crowned leader.

• Allen condemned Morgoth, warned the people that their jewelry controlled their minds, and urged them to remove it.
• Black smoke gathered above the crowd, mocked Allen, and re-formed after lightning struck it; Allen suspected an unknown trick was behind its strength.
• Hollimion and his men used a siege ram to smash open the concealed stone door at Thar’s secret base.
• Hollimion led the Twilight Knights down the cave tunnel and repelled an ambush by Dark Dwarves serving Sauron.
• Hollimion killed three Dwarves and exchanged blows with their crowned leader, who wore a ruby-set gold ring.

Allen fought to stop Sauron’s enchantment from consuming Winterhold, exhausting himself as soldiers struggled to subdue the bewitched residents. Gandalf arrived to confront Sauron’s projection, which suddenly disintegrated, and Allen called for Jeremus to treat the injured as the skies cleared.

• Allen ordered Asudan to sound the horn, while Bunduk sealed the castle gates and summoned troops to keep the anxious crowd under control.
• Gael and Baren led imperial guards in an effort to knock out the enchanted residents, but Sauron’s black-smoke claws overwhelmed many soldiers.
• Allen used his shield and healing rain to keep fighting, then prepared to risk another session in the Simulator as the smoke weakened.
• The Eagle King brought Gandalf to Winterhold, where Gandalf’s holy light put the enchanted residents to sleep and he confronted Sauron’s fiery projection.
• Allen rallied the surviving guards to rescue the residents, but Sauron’s projection disintegrated before Jeremus arrived with his students to treat the injured.
• The dark clouds dispersed and the night sky cleared, leaving Allen relieved as the battle ended.

After Sauron’s attack on Winterhold, Allen treated the critically wounded and learned that hundreds of citizens had rapidly lost their vitality. He gave Jeremus six bottles of the Elixir of Immortality to prepare a remedy, while Marnid brought the stunned Thar to him.

• Hollimion destroyed the black crystal orb, and its red-tinged smoke fled through the passage as he and the Twilight Knights recovered.
• Gandalf reproached Allen for confronting Sauron without seeking help, while Allen continued treating citizens injured in the chaos.
• Jeremus reported that 635 citizens appeared to have aged suddenly after losing their vitality, and Allen suspected Sauron had drained their life force through the bronze ornaments.
• Jeremus asked Allen for Elixir of Immortality to make medicine for the affected citizens, and Allen supplied him with six bottles.
• Marnid approached Allen with Thar, who realized that the ornaments he had agreed to sell had brought disaster to Winterhold.

After Sauron’s scheme in Fisslet was stopped, Allen contained the fallout and learned that Jeremus’s new potion could help save the afflicted citizens. The chapter left Allen refusing Gandalf’s demand to surrender a powerful Dwarf-ring, which he wanted to study for his Rune Magic.

• Allen confined Thar to Fisslet, allowed him to write to Thorin, and planned to seek compensation from the King under the Mountain.
• Allen prepared proclamations to explain the crisis and orders to recover and destroy the Black Gem jewelry across Rhovanion.
• Jeremus told Allen that a potion combining the Elixir of Immortality and Miruvor had improved a patient’s condition and could help the afflicted recover.
• Allen inspected the spoils from Hollimion’s cave, including a ruby-set ring identified by Gandalf as one of the Seven Dwarf-rings.
• Gandalf urged Allen to surrender the ring, but Allen refused because he wanted to use it to overcome difficulties in his Rune Magic research.

Allen fought Swadia’s war against the Vaegirs to earn enough renown to upgrade the herders into Khergit Lancers, then received Thorin’s offer to place Thar and his kin under Allen’s command. The chapter ended with Allen asking Thar whether he would accept help rescuing relatives captured in Rhûn.

• Allen used Swadia’s cavalry to defeat the Vaegirs around Rivacheg, and Yaroglek eventually surrendered and agreed to peace.
• Allen accepted a castle, Rivacheg, and Denars in exchange for peace, distributed the new holdings, and returned to Praven.
• Allen spent his renown upgrading the herders into Khergit Lancers.
• Thorin wrote to Allen, proposing that Thar and his kin serve under Allen as compensation for Thar’s role in the attack on Fisslet.
• Allen summoned Thar and offered to help rescue his relatives captured by a tribe in Rhûn.

Thar read Thorin’s letter and learned that Allen would spare him and help rescue the Blackhair Dwarves captured by the Rhûn Cavalry. Allen planned to ask Bal for help, while considering a mountain home for Thar’s people and hearing how the Darkness was spreading in the East.

• Thar read Thorin’s letter, accepted responsibility for his wrongdoing, and realized that Thorin had tried to save him and his tribespeople.
• Allen offered to help recover the Dwarves captured by the Rhûn Cavalry, and Thar described their black banner bearing a silver wingless dragon.
• Thar explained the Blackhair clan’s dispersed tribal life and the hardships Dwarves faced in the East as Mordor’s influence grew.
• Thar told Allen that two blue-robed wizards had preached against the Enemy, but black knights and the growing power of Mordor had driven his people from their homeland.
• Allen considered Steel Mine Town as a possible home for Thar’s Dwarves and planned to have Firentis approach Bal about rescuing the captives.