Sadly that quote isn't at all relevant. And this is a Third Age character.

Tar-Telperien amuses me, mostly because I can credibly insist she's a Nazgul. ^_^ But she's not great for games.

hS

So this character has some connection to games? But your puzzle doesn't mention any games.

... we're playing a game, Urwen. Tar-T is a barely-described character, so she's not good for things like riddles and questions.

hS

Still, there are too many characters that lived in the third age.

How about Arvedui? Had some plans about being the High King and going to Gondor or something like that, but instead went up to the Bay of Forochel. Which did not end well for Arvedui.

Yes, there are a lot of characters in Middle-earth. That's why these games work. If this was the Mr. Bliss Forum, we couldn't play them, because we'd just run through the same list of 8 or so characters over and over.

Precisely that. :) Though I was careful not to say 'instead' - while the two were causally connected, I didn't think it would be fair to imply that he made a choice between the two.

Over to you, G55.

hS

I bring a message of despair, but myself get a message of hope. I ask for the commander but find his superior. Who am I?

Aragorn?

I feel like this happens in Rohan; isn't there someone who shows up looking for Eomer but gets to talk to Theoden instead?

Ceorl, apparently, is his name, a messenger from Erkenbrand. "Where is Éomer? Tell him there is no hope ahead. He should return to Edoras before the wolves of Isengard come there."

hS

That's the guy! Back to you.

I reached what we had come for, but turned back and forbade any others from following.

hS

Finarfin?

No.

Also... what? o.O

hS

Finarfin turned back after Alqualonde.

I reached what we had come for, but turned back and forbade any others from following.

hS

Frodo?

No.

'Forbade any others from following' is supposed to mean 'forbade anyone from going to what we had come for', rather than 'from following me as I turned back'.

hS

No one I can think of right now did such a thing, specifically.

Aragorn, maybe?

Nope.

Out of curiousity, when?

'What we had come for' is a place.

hS

Well, a hint, maybe?

Okay: the prohibition lasted 90 years before being (presumably) rescinded by the one who made it.

This turned out to be a pretty bad idea.

hS

Makes me think of Ar-Pharazon's capture of Sauron.

If this isn't it, then it still doesn't ring a bell.

One more hint, please?

When forbidding anyone from going in, he was a king's cousin.

When he allowed someone to do so, he was himself a king.

hS

Sounds like one of Gondorian or Numenorean Kings.....but I can't find any who fit all the hints.....

I think I found him. Dain Ironfoot. He dissuaded his cousin from going into Moria on his own.

That's the chap. More specifically, he said that no dwarf should enter Moria, because he alone had seen what waited within - Durin's Bane.

90 years later, he let Balin lead an expedition there. Dude had a very bad grasp of the lifespan of Balrogs.

Over to you.

hS

By the way, you also have the honor of making a new riddle.

My actions lead to the death of exactly twelve people.


(This is one of my tricky ones, where the clue isn't what it seems at first glance)

Why was Gandalf so surprised to find one there? Catastrophic hole in his knowledge!

How large was Turin's outlaw band? Anyone know?

Wait, or is this circling back to Beren and Barahir again?

Now there's an interesting question. My best answer is that everyone thinks of Balrogs as creatures of fire first; notably, Gandalf and Legolas only recognise Durin's Bane when it steps through the fire and catches alight. If Dain saw it in Shadow form, then he could have shared everything with Gandalf and still not tipped him off. (Evil shadow creatures are probably a tharni a dozen in Middle-earth.)

hS

One of your thoughts is the right one.

And please make a new riddle.

Okay, so Barahir had twelve companions, and Barahir + eleven of them died. Beren was the sole survivor.

But whose actions led to their deaths? Hmm...

-Gorlim the Unhappy was the actual betrayer. His secret hunting for Eilinel led to his capture, and his yielding to Sauron's temptation led to his death and that of Barahir's band. So he gets the actions part.

-Sauron planned and organised their deaths, but also plenty more, so 'exactly' rules him out.

-Eilinel is blameless. Sauron seems to have used an illusion, not her actual spirit, to tempt Gorlim.

-Barahir could arguably be blamed, given that his actions in keeping the gang in Dorthonion led to their deaths... but that also, ultimately, led to Beren's death.

So I think the answer has to be Gorlim, son of Angrim, husband of Eilinel, called the Unhappy.

hS

It is right, but I had someone else in mind. Let's say that those twelve deaths include the speaker's own.

You're cĺose with Gorlim, though.