The Snail Wrider

General, 

I hope this letter finds you well in body as in spirit. It is my pleasure to report that Mosaine has been acquitted of the charges for which she was held captive in Minas Tirith these past months.  The honorable men of the court determined that she was acting in self-defense, and, owing to the testimonies of the noble women at the Houses of Healing, they saw fit to release her without further tribunal. 

With this matter now addressed to the great joy of all, I believe I will return to the northern kingdom. As well as it has done me to see the state of the old guard houses, and find Minas Tirith as lively as ever after the war, I still feel that my coming while necessary was premature. Minas Tirith has brought me nothing but solemnity where it once brought me gladness. I find that all my old friends are scattered abroad on the eastern fronts, defending the borders, and doing battle with the remnants of dark forces in distant lands. New young men now stand on the walls where my old brothers once stood. I feel I must return to the field, or else abandon myself to the tide of idleness that takes the redundant and antiquated.

If there is any service I may perform while I am yet in this country, my strength is yours to command.
Your servant,

Tyrral Ezekiel Jones.

****** 

My good friend, 

Messengers do not run quick enough between the Shire and Gondor, nonetheless I finally received your letter of the twenty-first of November yesterday afternoon. I am pleased to know of the cessation of Mosaine's trial, and that the good men and women of Gondor's upper circles have the sense to spare one who has sacrificed so much for the sake of her king and country. No doubt your efforts were aided by the Hand by which justice and mercy are rightly administered. 

As regarding your return here, I look forward to seeing you again and hope the others will join you. It has been far too quiet here lately. My errand-runner returned with the antidote to the rivers and springs two days before your letter, but those who fell ill in early autumn are taking longer to mend than those who were taken to it recently. The dragon who caused their suffering has withdrawn to the north for which purpose I can only imagine to be evil. She cannot be allowed to remain in seclusion, lest perchance her second flight of chaos be worse than the first. Nonetheless, our strength must be gathered sufficiently before we pursue a dragon into its lair. If you should chance to see Tarvhos while you are journeying back tell him to come to ride with you at once. I will be holding a council the moment you are again in the Shire.

Until then, may the back of your horse bear you safely and his hooves carry you swiftly.

Yours faithfully,
Skalithor MountainZephyr.

******

General, 

I write from Evendim and hope my letter is carried with the speed with which I entrusted it. I beg leave to apologize for my error, as it shames me that I forgot to inform you of my meeting Tarvhos in Gondor prior to Mosaine's trial. I am sorry to say I found him in a tavern attempting to regain his wits, though I learned later the cause for his overindulgence and aided him to the Old Archives of Minas Tirith. There, we learned somewhat about this dragon you have mentioned. We found an ancient tome regarding an expedition of some sort which took place in the Second Age. I have enclosed a copy of the document with this letter for your review. I regret, however, that you will find the story incomplete, as many areas of the tome were singed beyond readability.

  

As for myself, I have seen the dragon with my own eyes and witnessed the devastating power of her breath. Tarvhos, I found, was bound by oath to confront the beast and I would not have him go alone, nor would others of our comrades. He did well to forbid us from it, lest peradventure we return not. But the terror of facing even such a magnificent beast as Bloodfallen could not compare to the terror one feels at the prospect of losing a friend and brother. To think that I should let him go silently and never see or hear from him again... I could imagine no greater torment. Therefore, though he threatened me severely and rode out alone, Captain Evonfall knew of his designs and we two arrived ahead of him. 

It will come as no surprise to you, I trust, to know that the Captain of the Dead awaited us. For of a truth it was he that held Tarvhos bound by blood oath to come, and others were also expected. I fear to think what might've become of our friend had he come alone. Nonetheless, we were joined by the golden masked elf, with whom you are previously acquainted, and whom the Captain seemed to treat with a fair amount of mutual respect. Then the Captain led us into the lair of Bloodfallen.

You will forgive me, I hope, for not recounting the details of our visit. The dread with which we entered, and the terrors which we encountered are not worthy of recall. Yet I will say that we escaped, or rather, were permitted to leave after we learned the dragon's true interest. It appears that for whatever purpose, the dragon and the Captain are united in their common pursuit, and seek none other than Tarvhos' half-brother Taivian. This was the Captain's interest in Tarvhos all along, but he was deceived I suppose in part, for which I am grateful. Taivian's whereabouts remain unknown to them at present, and I hope for the sake of all he remains so. 

As my letter has grown particularly lengthy, and I trust we will have time to speak before long, I will close with the only bit of cheerful news I have. You see, it was discovered after we escaped the dragon's lair, much to our amazement and delight, that the golden mask was worn by none other than your friend Hawkinz. How he played such a magnificent part is beyond my understanding, but even the perceiving Captain of the Dead was taken unawares. Now I am in company with them all; Tarvhos, Evonfall, Hawkinz, and Lartenell. We come to the Shire in two days time, and then I shall hope to speak with you in person.

With good faith that this letter will precede us, I remain

Your servant,

Tyrral Ezekiel Jones.