[Ivriniel]

Given the Background: Rescuing The Stones

1. The Osgiliath Stone

I'd have thought that it was a no-brainer for King Elessar and his five mixed-blood children to have built a series of sleuths in the Anduin at Osgiliath and to have gone on a 'mine and rescue mission'. Couldn't have been as difficult as rebuilding the doors to Minas Tirith, which was something Dwarves did with their hands tied. Given the significance of the Palantir to surveillance networks for the sparsely populated Reunited Kingdom and given the particular state of Arnor--what a couple of hundren Dunedain--I'm thinking Aragorn found the Osgiliath Stone. It was simply to heavy and big to have been flushed anywhere by the waters of the Anduin.

2. The Barad Dur stone

Another no-brainer. Off they all went to the ruins of the Barad Dur. As precedent, Galadriel trundled off to the Dol Guldur and laid bare its pits and took down its towers. I'd have imagined that rummaging through the Barad Dur was an important thing to do in the Fourth Age to stop petty sorcerers from getting hold of an ancient artefact, not the least one crafted by Feanor himself. For strategic reasons, you wouldn't want that to happen. Whether or not the Stone was usable again--of course it was. Aragorn, and the Line of Elros are the rightful custodians and Aragorn demonstrated capacity to out-will Sauron in that Stone-to-Stone confrontation where he wrested the Orthanc Stone free of Sauron's clutches.

Importantly, we *were* told that Aragorn and a crew took down the Minas Morgal in a 'search-and-destroy' mission. This was done as a matter of strategic significance for the Reunited Kingdom in order to ensure that evil things were destroyed and removed from that haunted place. I see no reason the Dunedain did not do the same for, not only the Barad Dur, but also Cirith Ungol.

3. The Stones in the Ice Bay of Forochel

Harder but doable.

Step 1. Contact the Emyn Beriad Stone (now in the Uttermost West with Galadriel and Elrond) with one of the other stones. I suspect they took the stone so they could keep in touch with their ole pal, Aragorn. Or, contact the Elves in the West with a Middle Earth stone. Doable? I'd say 'yes'. Do 'bans apply'. I'd say 'no'. They're on the Straight Road. Surely, dear Aragorn wanted to give his ole mates a call, from time to time. And surely, the Stones were set in place by Eldar in Valinor.

Step 2. Get advice about the lost Stone's location. Scry for them. The Stones can look through mountains, for goodness sake, and weren't obstructed by land, sea or air. You just needed to focus on location. So, off you go, scrying the Ice Bay, and down in the depths.

Step 3. Shipwreck Diving. Get smarty pants Dwarves to craft a Dwarfy submarine, or devise yourselves some kind of underwater rig. Doable for their technological and magical capacities--of course it is. Where's Ulmo when you need him? He'd have a bunch of Maia under his leadership who the good ole Dunedain could have had a chat to in the Westernesse to get some ideas about 'how to'. Thoronder is the Maian equivalent of the same for the airs. You don't need magic to do this. What about a stone submarine. Or, winches, rope, stuff like that, once you know the Stones' whereabouts.

Did the Stones in the Ice Bay get covered over time? I'd say not. Shipwrecks don't seem to, because there's often not much happening in the way of flow and currents. I'd imagine the ship wreck's pretty much still down there, though what a couple of thousand years would do to it, well that depends on how Numenoreans built boats. If it was anything like the spells associated with Adunaic and imbued into their fortresses, there is some likelihood that the sunken ship has survived the ages. I'd say Arvedui's shipwreck would still be there in rotting bits and pieces, with, I'd say, a great deal of submerged treasure. There were materials and items central to the North Kingdom in Arvedui's boat.

On Precedents for Rescuing Artefacts

1. Beren and Luthien and confrontation at Thangorodrim for rescuing the Silmaril.
2. The Nauglamir, Nogrod and Belegost.
3. The One Ring and being found in the Anduin.
4. The Rescuing of Celebrian (Galadriel's daughter/Elrond's wife) by Elladan, Elrohir and Noldor of Rivendell from the Goblin hoards of the Misty Mountains.
5. The finding of the two Elven swords and Bilbo's mithril coat in the Troll hoard in the Hobbit.


Cheers
Ivriniel (Imrahil's older sister. She thinks her brother was pretty spoilt in that princely son kind of way and has ideas of her own about Realmslore)