The Last Ring-bearer - Kirill Yeskov [164]
"Galadriel's Mirror?!"
"They called it something else, but I'm sure you know what they're talking about."
"They have to be crazy! It's unbelievably difficult to get access to the Lady's Mirror."
"Why crazy? That's exactly what they've said: this will be her chance to prove her position in the hierarchy… So: on August first, at noon, you will take the palantír out of the sack and switch it from 'receive' to 'two-way' mode, and over in Mordor they will see Galadriel's Mirror; then you'll see your son, alive and well… relatively well, anyway. Then they'll tell you who has to be rescued from which camp. All further communication will be conducted via the palantíri. Any objections?"
"This won't work for us," she said suddenly in a hollow voice; he immediately noted this 'us' – everything's going smoothly.
"What's the problem?"
"No magical objects may be brought into Lórien without the knowledge of the Star Council. The palantíri are charged with very powerful magic, so I won't be able to smuggle one past the border guard."
"They've heard of this ban, but does it apply even to a clofoel of the World?"
She smiled crookedly. "You don't fully know Elvish customs. The ban applies to everyone, including both Sovereigns. The border guard obeys the clofoel of Tranquility and no one else."
"Well, if the border guard are the only hitch, I'm glad to solve this small problem that you think insurmountable," Grager said with calculated casualness. "The palantír will be smuggled to you directly in your capital, Caras Galadhon."
"In Caras Galadhon?" she froze in amazement and Grager felt with his very gut that something was off.
You're afraid, he realized, for the first time during this conversation you're actually afraid. Why now, all of a sudden? Of course, learning that right in your own capital enemy spies can do things that you, an all-powerful royal minister, can't do, has to be a shock. But the main thing is that this turn was a surprise to you, meaning that you have more or less anticipated the rest of our conversation after receiving Eloar's ring… anticipated and set up a counter-game, which means that everything you've fed me so far was what you wanted me to believe, rather than your real feelings. I should've figured it out before: you broke and agreed to be recruited way too easily, and you had to know that this is a recruitment and you'll be on the hook for the rest of your life – after all, we're colleagues, in a manner of speaking… Sure, her son is in enemy's hands and at risk of a grisly death, but still, she's a courtier, which means she had to go through a helluva lot of intrigue and betrayal on her way to the clofoel's chair, or whatever they sit on at that Star Council of theirs. It's Haladdin's decision, of course, but in his place I wouldn't have trusted her with a penknife, much less a palantír. Betcha she'll cheat the learned doctor like a little kid during the exchange. Then again, maybe she won't… meaning she won't be able to. The guy has his own aces up his sleeve: I've no idea how he's going to get that crystal over to her in the Enchanted Forest, secretly, but I'm certain he's not bluffing.
"You've heard correctly, milady, in Caras Galadhon. You're in charge of the Festival of the Dancing Fireflies this year, correct?"
Chapter 60
Lórien, Caras Galadhon
Night of July 22, 3019
The Elves consider the Festival of the Dancing Fireflies on the night of the July's full moon to be one of their foremost holidays; thus an informed Lórienite can make important conclusions regarding the true situation among Lórien's ruling elite, 'never as united as now,' from the identity of the person in charge and how that person