[Child of the 7th Age]

Luindal gazed moodily at the fire and again replayed the sequence of events that had led to the death of his two companions in the watery tunnels of the cavern. All day, on the trek north, he had been unable to purge their faces from his mind or the haunting feeling that he had somehow failed them. Pushing his hand beneath his belt, he felt the swatch of fabric and button that he’d picked up in the cave. His natural inclination was to meet life in an open and honest way and assume that those around him were doing the same. Yet all the evidence he had seen over the past two days suggested something very different.

Luindal had not been shocked to learn that the Corsairs were likely responsible for the precipitous landslide. The Southrons had their personal ambitions and schemes, the details of which were unknown to him. Yet it was certain that they would bitterly oppose the Seeing Stones falling into the hands of Elves or King Elessar. He only wished he had realized ahead of time that they were likely to hatch a plot of their own that would bring danger and death to his own men. What did disturb him was the mounting evidence that there were one or more among his own party who had apparently decided to side with the enemy. This was hard to take.

This time, however, he would not be caught off guard. Some of the men were still away from camp, gathering water and provisions, but a number had already settled in for the night. His eyes scanned the campsite until they lit on a likely recruit. Gesturing Elwën to come join him, Luindal explained that he needed someone to search by the shore to see if there was indication of anyone else coming here beforehand, perhaps with evil intent. “Be careful when you go! I am probably wrong, but it’s possible we have company. Make sure you’re not seen. And if you find anything unusual, come back and tell me. Oh, yes, and one last thing, whatever you do, do not walk out on the ice itself. Stay on the snowy banks that overlook the Bay.” With that, he clapped Elwën on the shoulder and sent him out into the bleak night.

Walking over to the others who were gathered round a larger fire, he sat down and began to talk, “Tomorrow, I want us to take every precaution. I want no more deaths if we can avoid it. A few will be assigned to walk out on the ice and test it, to make sure we have no more mishaps. The rest of you will stand guard on shore, watching for intruders.”

"I've assigned Annu and Elwen to the second team, and Andtuariel if she is well enough.. You must tie sturdy ropes about your waist and anchor them to something solid onshore, perhaps a tree or large boulder. Freyn will be in charge of these lifelines along with Hilde, Alahseey, and Rôg I hope nothing goes wrong, but if it does they will pull with all their might and direct all the other Lossoth and Elves to do the same so that we lose no one else to the waters of the Bay.

"I will lead the first party onto the ice, and will need a volunteer to work with me." He glanced around the group and eyed Galhardir. “We need a Lossoth who knows the Bay. Galhardir, this is no easy job, but I can think of no one else I would rather have at my side in the first group. What say you?”