Girindor had spent several months in Galendor tending his sapling and trying to recruit elves – particularly those with druidic powers who could help him maintain the sapling – to his new realm. Apparently this had generated a certain level of controversy in the Elven Homelands – a hidden enclave somewhere in Guria where most of the elves left on Middle Earth resided. Nevertheless, he had now attracted enough followers that he felt that he could leave the sapling in their hands long enough to embark upon a quest to recover the shard of the Sarn Tur, “The One that was Broken”, that had once been at the heart of Galendor.
He approached his human and dwarven comrades to join him in this quest. Wilf, Trevillion, Yspadadden and Ranulf readily agreed. He brought a taciturn and hatchet-faced elven fighter-magic user called Gloredril to the party. She plainly saw it as her role to be Girindor’s bodyguard.
Yspadadden pointed out that the value of the Sarn Tur was bound to outweigh that of all the rest of the loot. He suggested that the elves take the Sarn Tur as their share, while the dwarves and humans would split any other loot.
If Girindor communed with the land, he could sense the Sarn Tur fragment. He knew it was somewhere in the north of Galendor so they set off on foot in that direction. He was sure that as he came closer to the Shard his sense of its whereabouts would become more precise. Under his guidance they found themselves heading up a wooded valley with a stream – that looked perhaps once to have been a river.
Their first encounter was with a band of hill giants occupying an ancient ruined edifice that might have been some sort of elven shrine. They made short work of the giants. As so often in Galendor the loot included many elven artefacts, including a potion that was later found to grant invisibility. On this occasion there were a few pieces of dwarven manufacture too.
As they continued up the gully they could see a tower, its bottom levels embedded in a cliff-side but protruding far above it. They also spotted griffins flying above them and took refuge beneath the canopy of the trees that lined the gully. There was some discussion about exploring the tower but the elf said that the Shard was further up the valley. They moved on.
The gully floor started to rise and broaden out. Girindor directed them eastward. As they climbed the gentle slope they could see a large mere a little to the north which must be the source of the stream they had been following. Beyond were some high peaks. Ranulf thought he could hear the sound of singing from that direction. Yspadadden could hear nothing but both he and Ranulf knew of the Galeb Dur – the Singing Stones. No-one else knew what they were talking about.
They could now see ahead of them a bluff and the mouth of a tunnel heading into it. According to Girindor this was where the Shard lay. The others looked at the dwarves. Neither Yspadadden nor Ranulf had tunnel scout skills however, it was underground so they entered the passage first, while the others awaited their report.
The passage curved around to the right, and before them, in the right-hand wall they could see a large and deliberately fashioned portal. Before they could peer in, both had a presentiment that had them pressing back against the passage wall as a serpentine head and neck, followed by a winged body and a long, snaking tail surged out of the portal. Whether the dragon had simply not seen the dwarves or had decided that it preferred to dine on elf, they never knew. However, it snaked straight past them. The dwarves set off in pursuit, but by the time they reached the party it was all over.
They found Girindor upon the ground, Gloredril, sword drawn, standing over him; Wilf was brandishing Death Glance; Trev was knocking an arrow to his bow; the dragon was launching itself into the skies. It had at least two nasty gashes in its side, signs of blasting by lightning and an arrow jutting from its body. Upwards it flew and in but seconds it was a spec in the distance.
Apparently, it had emerged from the cavern and pounced on Girindor, savaging the elf. The elf had managed to blast it with his lightning bolt ring. The dragon reeled back briefly and Gloredril had put herself between it and Girindor. Wilf had weighed in with his dwarf-wrought two-handed blade and dealt it two mighty blows. Trev had shot it and it had fled.
They dragged Girindor into the passage, reckoning that if it returned it might be better to fight it in an enclosed space than in the open. Yspadadden took the time to conjure the magic to heal the elf of his wounds, then they went to explore the dragon’s lair.
There were many magical treasures there but it took a matter of seconds for Yspadadden to detect the shining beacon of power that was the Shard. There was more here than they could easily carry and who knew how far the dragon had gone. It could be back at any minute, or it might be lurking outside ready to pounce on them as they staggered out, heavily laden with treasure.
Yspadadden had an idea. Yspadadden was a powerful cosmic magician who knew many spells. His weakness was that it took him far longer to summon power from the cosmos than any human or elf. However, he suspected that the Shard would grant its wielder effectively limitless and instantly available magical power. With it he could teleport everything in the cave including all the party members back to Chittagong in but a few minutes.
The elf looked reluctant but they could all see the sense of the dwarf’s plan and so the elf hesitantly handed the gem over. Yspadadden only knew a basic teleport spell to transport himself and a single passenger. He and his passenger could each carry a substantial pack. He had to make several trips back and forth, but each trip could be done in the blinking of an eye. In less than a minute he had transported all the loot and all the party members safely to his tower in Chittagong.
It was an exhilarating experience for Yspadadden – all that power that he could access instantly with but a thought. When they were all back together, he made a desultory effort to tease the elf about not returning the gem. However, truth be told the high was starting to fade and he was developing a splitting headache. He handed it over and went for a lie down. It was many days before he wanted to cast magic at all and weeks before he felt fully fit.
Amongst the loot were six more powerful elvish potions and an interesting collection of cosmic magic spells. Only one thing was left behind: a strange black altar stone that detected for power and was condemned as evil by Wilf.
G-38
OE Date: Summer 696
Characters: Girindor, Yspadadden, Ranulf, Wilf, Trevillion NPCs: Gloredril
Real World: Autumn 2015; Where: Bristol