[piosenniel]

Pio sat a long while considering what Levanto had said. She brought the images to her mind of The Valley of the Tombs, and the network of caverns which lay beneath the Pillar of Heaven. She traced the course of the Siril back to its source, the springs deep within the caverns. The natural outlay of the land and the positions of the tombs were clear in her mind, but nothing came to her when she sought to see how the prison grounds might look themselves.

Where were the hobbits kept? Where did they go to work? Where were the guards stationed & how many were there? Where were the headquarters. Where was the armory? Where were the Locks and how were they guarded. In order for the meager troops of the Star to stage a succesful operation, all this needed to be found out.

She could not ask Levanto to increase his trips. He was already exhausted. And the information would have to be gleaned from what the prisoners told him. It would be too long a process. She wanted the whole picture, seen the way she needed it to be seen, and now.

What concerned her most at the moment was the exact location of Daisy. Anger that the girl had been placed in such a dangerous position and anger at herself for agreeing to such a scheme pushed her resolve to go to the prison grounds and see for herself what she might do. 'Probably nothing.' she thought grimly to herself, knowing she could not jeapordize the larger rescue to bring back Daisy now. She contented herself with the thought that at least when the day came she would know exactly where to find her.

Mithadan was overseeing the making of flotation devices and discussing the techniques in using them with Rose when she found him. He looked at her as she approached and she motioned for him to continue his discussion, but asked that when he was done, would he come speak with her in her cabin.

She found her map of Númenor among the piles of books in her room and was just laying it out on the bed when he entered. 'Come look at this.' she said. 'I have a detailed map and journal notes on all the areas of the Isle. We know exactly how we will get there and how long it will take us.'

'Yes?!', he said, wondering where she was going with this, and hoping it was not what he knew it would be.

'The prison area itself is a cypher to us, Mithadan. We cannot go into such a dangerous situation having no information about its particulars. Too many lives here and in the future depend upon us to complete this task, to do it well. Time grows short. The day of the rescue will soon be upon us. We need that information now, if our few hands are to be successful.'

'I am going to the caverns. When I return I will have the answers that we need. Tomorrow morning, early, I will leave for the River Siril, and by late night I should be under the mountain. It should not take me long to find the information, and then I will return directly.'

She looked at the map, and pointed to a place about halfway up the river. The site of a large dock, as he recalled, from that first excursion up the river with 'Tulë'.

'There is another matter we need to take care of once I return. I think I will be too tired to take care of it myself this trip.' She indicated the area just north of the dock. 'This is where a small patrol ship is at anchor. It bears the black banner and is the one which Levanto saw on his early trip upriver. It seems to be permanently stationed there.' She paused, considering her next words. 'I saw it there when I was looking for eel. That night I boarded it and inspected the interior. There are five men aboard, and a moderate number of weapons - mostly blades and bows for the use of the crew. They do have pigeons aboard, probably for carrying reports north to Gorthaur or one of his close minions. I had planned to travel back upriver to eliminate this problem before we took the elven ships upriver. I wonder now if perhaps you might have some thoughts on how we might do this together. Think on it, if you will and we can discuss it when I return.'

She went to the end of her bed and opened the small chest. Selecting four knives, she laid them out on her bed, and then looked for the sharpening tool. Mithadan had not spoken a word as yet, and she considered that a favorable sign.

Pio sat on her bed cross-legged and began to inspect and hone the blades. He sat down in a chair and watched her. 'He will speak when he's ready.' she thought. 'Until then, I will make ready to go.'

[ October 11, 2002: Message edited by: piosenniel ]