The party was welcomed by Elfwine the fair the following morning. Elfwine offered them anything that Edoras could provide once he had heard that Elberon had sent them on their quest. Elfwine also let the fellowship that many other treasure seekers had previously set off for the Paths of the Dead never to return. Elfwine also recommended that they leave their horses in Edoras as the horses will be unable to climb up to Dunharrow and no animals will enter the Paths of the Dead.

The fellowship also asked about the Orcs with the symbol of the white triangle. Elfwine shared that Rohan has seen the symbol more and more frequently, but is unaware of the meaning or purpose behind it. Elfwine also shared that the Orc attacks have also become more frequent of late.

The fellowship thanked Elfwine for his hospitality and only requested general supplies and some holy water before they set out. Elfwine provided each party member with two vials of Holy Water each. The fellowship also agreed to leave their mounts behind and tipped the stable boy to take good care of the horses and the mule.

The fellowship travelled the day to Dunharrow without incident. They made their way up the switchbacks making their way past the statues of the Pukel Men.  They eventually came to the plateau and saw a black pillar looming in front of them with the dark cave beyond. The party felt an overwhelming feeling of fear as they first approached the Black Pillar and decided to camp here before entering the Dark Cave.

The party awoke the next morning and made their way past the Black Pillar after overcoming the intense feelings of fear that caused two party members to drop to one knee. They stoically stood up and moved forward and entered the Dark Cave. Inside the Dark Cave a cool breeze blew all around them. Suddenly the doors shut tight behind them. The fellowship lit torches and decided to move forward.

The fellowship continued down the passageway and came into a chamber with four alcoves that each contained a plain ceramic urn with three skeletons on the ground surrounding each urn. Hallamir looked inside the urn and found that it was empty. The fellowship all placed their coins in the urns with no effect. The fellowship emptied the urns and retrieved their coins. Jesoc strangely decided to take an urn and carry it with him.

The fellowship continued to the south end of the chamber and saw two pillars that glowed white as they approached. The closer they approached, the brighter the pillars shone until the light was almost unbearable. Jesoc and Kifak touched the pillars and found out they were very cool to the touch. Jesoc and Kifak felt stronger and emboldened after touching the glowing pillars. Undeterred, the party shielded their eyes and walked past the pillars down the passageway.

The passageway opened into a large chamber with nothing but a petrified tree in the centre. There were murals of trees and forests on all the walls of the chamber. The party examined the tree and the murals but could not recognize the tree or the murals. The fellowship decided to move on after Hallamir blessed the tree with Holy Water. The fellowship continued south down another passage.

The passageway opened into another chamber with six stone doors. Kifak struggled to open the first door but he was able to eventually open a couple of the doors with Jesoc’s help. They discovered that each room contained a sealed stone sarcophagus.

The fellowship decided to leave the sarcophagi undisturbed and exit to the south. They soon came upon another chamber with all the walls filled with unintelligible symbols that no one understood. The party tried to make sense of the symbols but were unsuccessful. Hallamir touched and prodded the symbols but it provided him with no additional insight. The fellowship decided to once again continue south.

The passageway opened into a larger chamber with an obsidian pedestal with a black sphere resting on it. As the fellowship approached the pedestal, a ghost warrior appeared and questioned:

“What do you seek?”

The fellowship told the tale of their quest and the ghost asked to see the coins. The party all deposited their coins in the ghost’s open palm and the ghost disappeared taking the coins with him. The black sphere also disappeared, leaving behind a black obsidian key.

In his mind, Kifak heard a voice: “Seek the Black Stone in Sarn Erech”. Kifak informed his party of what he heard and the fellowship decided to continue south to Sarn Erech after exiting the Paths of the Dead.

The next chamber was unlike any that they had seen before. It was totally constructed out of black obsidian and seem to narrow more and more towards the exit. The fellowship decided to send Arbun, the halfling, first to see if he could make it through.  Arbun was able to make it through and one by one the others also successfully made their way through. That was until Jesoc attempted to make his way through. Jesoc clumsily lost his footing and fell into the shards of obsidian cutting himself in the process. Jesoc was able to stand up again and make his way out.

The fellowship continued south into another chamber and found four more sarcophagi in pristine shape. The sarcophagi gleamed with a polished sheen and appeared new. The fellowship again decided to leave the sarcophagi undisturbed and continue south. Before they left the chamber, the fellowship was able to detect the smell of moisture and their spirits were lifted as they felt they were coming to the end of the Paths of the Dead.

As the party turned the corner, they continued to smell moisture and then heard the sound of running water. They soon saw water running down the vale in front of them and they were overcome with emotion. They stepped on out the Paths of the Dead into the sun.

All the party members are granted an inspiration for not desecrating remains in the Paths of the Dead.

The fellowship saw that far below them in the vale was the town of Sarn Erech. It was early afternoon and they estimated they could reach Sarn Erech by evening. They journeyed down the vale and soon came upon the ruins of Caleb Anghen – a beacon tower that had fallen into disrepair. The fellowship briefly examined the beacon tower but found nothing of note. The fellowship continued on and came upon the town of Sarn Erech in the late afternoon.

Jesoc recommended to the fellowship that the Crown and Castle Inn was a reputable place to seek food and lodgings. The fellowship was greeted by the halfling owner, Umbar Autumnleaf, who provided ale, food, and lodgings. The fellowship inquired about any local attractions or places that Umbar would recommend they visit. Umbar mentioned that Sarn Erech was a town with many inns and shops and recommended visiting the many shops and markets. Umbar also mentioned the games of chance upstairs. Kifak inquired about a local jeweller as the party wanted to ask about the Black Stone that was mentioned in the Paths of the Dead. Umbar gave the party direction to Tauron’s Jewellers and took his leave.

The fellowship finished their ales and went upstairs to try the games of chance. The fellowship played multiple games of Juggling Daggers, Poker, and Goblin’s Eye and were successful in winning gold in all of them. The party retired to their rooms as the games of chance were closing for the night.

The party awoke the next morning a set off for Tauron’s Jewellers. They were greeted by Tauron and asked about any black gemstones that he may have. Tauron showed the party multiple Obsidian gems, but the party was disappointed as they were all small. The party asked if Tauron had any larger Obsidian gemstones but he did not have any.

The fellowship decided to next check out the market area and visited the booths of many merchants before stopping at Wolf and Gunilds Brewery. Kifak immediately stopped and ordered ales. Kifak inquired if the Brewmeister knew of a Black Stone in Sarn Erech.

The Brewmeister replied: “The only Black Stone I know of is the Black Stone on Black Hill three miles southwest of Sarn Erech. Can’t miss it”

The fellowship quickly down their ales, tipped the Brewmeister, and thanked him for his help.

The party walked for under an hour and came upon the Black hill, with a Black Stone on a pedestal. The Black Stone was a black sphere on an Obsidian pedestal. The party rushed forward looking for a keyhole anywhere on the Black Hill, the black pedestal, or the Black Stone itself. Finding none, Hallamir suggested touching the key to the Black Stone itself.

When the Black Stone was touched with the Obsidian Key, the Black Stone opened, revealing a shimmering black sphere that the party guess was the Palantir. Kifak stepped forward and quickly swept the Palantir into the bag of holding, but not before he a terrifying vision of a dark tower in the middle of a forest. Kifak did not recognize the tower so he bravely reached toward the Palantir in the bag of holding one more time and had the same the same vision again but this time the tower was covered in spiders.

Kifak removed his hand and shared the visions he had with the rest of the party members.

The fellowship discussed their next plans trying to remember where other Palantir were lost. Hallamir suggested that Isengard was the closest and they should return to Edoras, retrieve their horses, and make for Isengard.

The party agreed and everyone decided to journey around the White Mountains rather than re-enter the Paths of the Dead.