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Epilogue: A New Beginning

Five years have passed since the death of the Istaris and the destruction of the Orc Pride. The orc presence in the Far East has greatly decreased with the loss of their leaders. The free people of the Sunwall now prosper and thrive on their land. The West is once again in peace... and most of its inhabitants did not even know they were on the verge of destruction.

Haldor is back from his journey on the seas. As always, Haleth and Morwen have been waiting for their father the whole morning, repeating in the garden the ultimate fight of their parents against the evil wizards. Aeryn is waiting inside the house. Since the fall of the Istaris and the relative quietness of the orcs, her duties as protector of the Gates of Morning leave her enough time for her family.

Even after settling down in the Far East, Haldor kept his taste for adventure... so he decided to put his talents to good use by escorting merchants through their journeys on land and sea. After the creation of portals between the West and the Far East, trade between the nations has grown flourishing. But now, it asks for more expansion. Rich patrons have invested a lot of money to build the biggest and fastest ships to explore the Great Sea to the east. And even if the orcs are quiet, there are still pirates roaming the sea, always looking for an easy prey...

Today, Haldor is back from one of those journeys across the Great Sea. Since he's been hired, no pirate has dared attacking his ship. And this last trip was very successful...

"You seem to be very satisfied with your journey..." says Aeryn.

"Indeed." replies Haldor. "This time we finally found what we were looking for... A new continent beyond the Great Sea, to the east. We were welcomed by peaceful people. Humans, elves... Their people call themselves with strange names, like we never heard before. And they wish to open a new trade route with our continent..."

"And what is the name of this new world?"

"Eyal... Maj'Eyal..."

Chapter 30: Victory

Haldor appears in a large room with four portals in the corners. The two istaris stand before him, shining like the sun.

"Welcome, Haldor. I hope you found the High Peak entertaining..."

"Eldorin, why are you doing this? You were supposed to help people!"

"Yes... I was used to be called Eldorin in my youth, but my name is Alatar now. Eldorin died ages ago when mankind decided to forsake their beliefs in Numenor. And despite what you are thinking, all we want is to help people. We have come to the self-evident conclusion that people are just unfit to govern themselves. Since the fall of Sauron there is no threat to unite them and they have become lazy."

"So you have decided to become the threat yourselves?"

"Us? Ah no, we are merely instruments for the Master. We have planned for His return."

"The Master? And who would that be?"

"Isn't it obvious? The greatest of the Valar, the black foe of the world. Melkor the great, whom you may know as Morgoth! The staff will allow us to drain enough energy from this world to open the portal to the Void and summon him through! We will bring forth the Last Battle, Dagor Dagorath, as it was prophetized to happen when the world was made.
You cannot stop us now!"

"I will stop you... I will not let Morgoth come back!

The air whirls around Haldor and suddenly High Sun Paladin Aeryn appears.

"Then you shall not fight alone! Together we shall stop them, or die trying!"

"I am glad to have you by my side, my Lady. Let's save the world!"

Haldor quickly examines the situation. The four portals are doors to four different dimensions: Destruction, Dragons, Undeath and Elements. These portals will perpetually summon beings through them if they are not closed at once. To close these portals, he will have to neutralize the two istaris first. Haldor casts Time Prison on Alatar and Stone Wall on Pallando, then promptly teleports to each portal. First, he tries to use the four Orbs of Command on the portals... no effect. Then he tries the Orb of Many Ways, hoping that he won't be sucked in the portals instead... but no, activating the Orb of Many Ways disables each portal one by one.

With the help of Aeryn, Haldor now tries to eliminate the blue wizards. With Alatar removed from time, they aim at Pallando first. Disperse Magic to remove his protections, then bolt spells while Aeryn is using the power of the Sun to weaken him further. After an epic fight, Pallando goes down... Haldor has just the time to pick up a shining pearl, the Pearl of Life and Death, and Alatar is freed from his Time Prison spell...

"I see you managed to vanquish Pallando..." says Alatar. "You have become extremely powerful, Haldor. But it still won't be enough against my power! I know what you have become, and I will be mercyful. Let me end your undead life. The halls of Mandos are waiting for you..."

Mandos can wait... Haldor remembers the time when mankind was living in constant terror of Morgoth, Lord of Darkness. This time will never come again! Haldor aims his Disperse Magic spell at Alatar... and the wizard finds himself moving and casting more slowly! Aeryn rushes out, and instantly attacks Alatar.

The magical duel has attained high levels of skillfulness. Round after round, devastating spells are cast. Many times, Haldor needs to make a pause to regenerate life and mana energies. Aeryn uses her melee skills, magical skills and healing skills very effectively. And soon, they seem to have the advantage over the blue wizard... Finally, after a final mana bolt, Alatar falls on his knees. And the once powerful Maia seems to regain a spark of goodness again...

"Forgive me, Haldor. You and your friend proved me that I was wrong. Now I can go back to Valinor in peace... I know that you dislike your current condition. Take my last sparkle of life essence as a gift..."

And with these words, the Maia Haldor once knew as Eldorin dies. A glowing halo rises from his body and quickly surrounds Haldor with bright light. When the halo clears, the two istaris lay dead on the floor. Suddenly, their bodies vanish in some immaterial mist.

"Aeryn, are you well?" asks Haldor.

"I cannot believe we succeeded. I was prepared to die and yet I live. I might have underestimated you. You did more than we could have hoped for!"

"We both did, my Lady."

Aeryn suddenly looks at Haldor more closely.

"Haldor, what happened to you? Your face... It looks brighter and more colorful!"

Haldor doesn't understand at first... then he looks at his reflection in a polished surface. Aeryn's right! Something has definitely changed... Haldor looks under his Cloak of Deception, and can't believe what he sees... Instead of a pile of bones, he sees flesh and blood! He touches his chest... and feels a heart beating again!

"It's nothing..." responds Haldor. "It's just... the feeling of a mission accomplished."

But maybe it's a little more than that... Haldor grabs Aeryn's hand.

"Come. A portal to the Gates of Morning has opened in the other side of the room. Let's go home..."

Chapter 29: The High Peak

As soon as Haldor enters the High Peak, he knows that something is wrong. The entrance should be visible... but there is no trace of an entrance anymore. Haldor is trapped inside the High Peak, with no turning back!

The High Peak looks like any other dungeon... with its monsters, and its vaults. In one of them, Haldor finds a strange wooden staff covered with an icy glow, showing the craftmanship of the elves. An icy elven-wood staff of wizardry. The Staff of Saruman he is using is nice... but this staff is nicer.

Haldor looks more closely at the creatures in the tunnels. The orcs he meets don't have the usual weapons and armor of the Orc Pride. Probably deserters or mercenaries... The demons must have been summoned from the infernal planes by powerful mages. The undead cratures must have been raised from the dead by powerful necromancers. The dragons must have inhabited these tunnels long before any other monsters were brought here...

Seven times Haldor takes a portal to the next floor, seven times the entrance behind him disappears. On the eighth floor, he is welcomed by many powerful undead. Many dreads, banshees and dreadmasters come through the walls and surround him. More than once he is close to be annihilated by the hexes... not counting the many times the uncorporeal undead manage to silence him and disperse his magical protections, rending him totally powerless. After a long fight, Haldor destroys the last of the undead... and sense that his own power has come to a cap.

There's another vault on the level... Haldor hesitates. He doesn't need to raise his experience level anymore, and he doesn't think of any item that could help him more than his current equipment. But something tells him to clear the vault. Inside, he finds a well-crafted staff made of dragon bones... a dragonbone staff of wizardry! He also finds a suit of gleaming plate mail, the Plate Armor of the Returned King.

Now it has been ten floors since Haldor entered the High Peak. And still no trace of the Blue Wizards... But on the fifteenth floor, he finds a strange portal. The portal seems to be connected to the Sanctum, the den of the Blue Wizards. Now there's definitely no turning back. Haldor steps on the portal and activates it...

Chapter 28: Final Preparations

Haldor enters the swilrling portal and in the blink of an eye is transported back in sight of the Gates of Morning. Before going to the slime tunnels, he needs to pay a visit to Limmir in the Valley of the Moon. He has found many rings and gems in his travels, and now is the best time to put them in good use.

On his way, Haldor finds a massive, stained girdle. The Mighty Girdle of Bombur. Limmir is still standing in the middle of the lake in the Valley of the Moon.

"Limmir... I found this mithril ring, a diamond and a pearl. Can you make a magical ring out of them?"

"Of course... look..."

The Master Jeweler creates Limmir's Ring of the Moon. A powerful artifact ring with resistances to all elements and boosts to innate capacities.

"Thank you. Now I'm prepared for the final journey..."

Haldor leaves the Valley of the Moon and heads to Grushnak's Pride bastion. Now the remaining orcs in the bastion don't pose any threat... most of them flea as he approaches, the others die quickly. On the bottom floor, he finds the entrance to the slime tunnels. Using his glowing key, he opens the magical door...

Lots of jellies welcome him in the tunnels. Not far from the entrance, Haldor finds an orb pedestal carved with the elements. He uses the Elemental Orb of Command on the pedestal, leading to a distant 'clonk' sound. Deeper in the tunnel, he finds three more pedestals. He uses the three remaining orbs on the pedestals, the Dragon Orb, the Orb of Destruction and the Orb of Undeath. Suddenly, there is a loud crack in the distance. The shield covering the High Peak has been deactivated!

Haldor makes his way through the slime tunnels. The jellies slow him down greatly, and he has to use all his cunningness to avoid them multiplying out of control. Finally, he reaches the exit of the slime tunnels... and enters the High Peak.

Chapter 27: Betrayed

As Haldor approaches the tower of Orthanc, he notices that the tower lies in ruins, with only the basement remaining. Many undead still roam the rooms and passages of the tower. On the bottom floor of the basement, Haldor finds a corrupted spirit, the Shade of Saruman.

The powerful undead knows how to cast nasty spells, from acid blasts to virulent diseases. But Haldor is now powerful enough to handle the fight, and to destroy the remaining spiritual essence of Saruman. As the shade dissipates, Haldor sees no sign of a text entitled "Inverted and Reverted Probabilistic Fields". He just finds a staff broken in two pieces and a few wands. Strangely, he is able to wield both parts of the broken Staff of Saruman in each hand.

Haldor leaves Orthanc. Before he returns to Minas Tirith, he wants to check the ancient elven ruins nearby. It's not really a dungeon, but it's the last place in Middle-Earth he didn't check. Last time, he had to flee the dangerous place because he was not prepared. Now, the monsters he finds are no match anymore.

Deep in the ruins, he finds a powerful undead, the Great Mummy Lord. This undead loves to cloak himself in a fog of invisibility. But Haldor can track his movement with a fire blast... and mummies don't like fire at all! Quickly the Mummy Lord is turned into a pile of ash. Among his remains, Haldor finds a glittering sword. He recognizes the blade immediately... Ringil, the sword of Filgolfin! What is this sword doing in this place? He cannot imagine that someone desecrated the tomb of the elven hero...

On his way out, Haldor stumbles upon a strange fungal growth. It looks like a mold... but how did a mold become a skeleton? Are these the bones of hapless adventurers? Z'quikzshl is very weak, but it's a master summoner. Haldor digs a hole in the walls and approaches the skeletal mold safely. With a single mana bolt, he destroys the undead mold...

But what is this strange glowing object among the scattered bones? Haldor comes closer and finds... a glowing key. This can't be... The Orc Pride could not choose a mold to keep the key that could open a path to the High Peak?! Maybe they thought nobody would be clever enough to think it would be kept by such an insignificant monster... But it's not Haldor's problem. Now he is ready to go back to the Far East and complete his mission.

Haldor enters Minas Tirith again and goes straight to Tannen's tower.

"Did you finish your research? Are you ready to create the portal?" asks Haldor.

"I am ready." replies Tannen. "But you are not..."

Haldor suddenly notices that he is standing on an etched portal. He tries to move away, but too late... The portal activates itself and transports Haldor to what seems to be a cell in the basement of the tower.

Haldor leaves the cell and explores the basement of the tower. In other cells, he finds demons, wyrms, greater elementals, bone giants... This floor seems like a giant prison!

The second floor is totally flooded. Water creatures inhabit the tunnels. Too bad for them, Haldor doesn't need to breathe anymore, and his spells still are very effective underwater.

The third floor is the realm of undead creatures. In a room, Haldor finds some heavy gloves, the Gloves of the Firm Hand.

As soon as Haldor sets foot on the last floor of the tower's basement, he is welcomed by a huge golem roughly shaped in the form of a dragon.

"Do you like my drolem? Isn't it nice?" says a voice behind the huge golem.

Tannen! The traitor has been revealed, and he does not intend to let Haldor escape to tell the tale. Haldor lays down a fire blast and retreats, while casting spells at both the drolem and the foul mage. The construct falls first, and his master follows him shortly after. Among the items scattered on the floor, Haldor finds the Orb of Many Ways, as well as the Blood-Runed Athame and the Resonating Diamond he found earlier.

In a corner of the room, Haldor finds a portal. Not what he was looking for... but the portal seems connected to Minas Tirith. He could use it to go back to the city...

As Haldor steps out of the portal, he notices a human standing there, wearing the robe of the mages of Angolwen.

"Well met Haldor! I am Meranas, Herald of Angolwen. I have come here at the request of King Eldarion who got worried about not seeing you coming back. We were watching Tannen for some time now, and you revealed his true nature and stopped him. For this we are grateful, and I think we can pay you back. We have studied his portal research and if you give me the components, I will create the portal for you, here and now."

"I thank you for your help." replies Haldor. "Here are the components..."

And Meranas builds the portal... Haldor is now ready to finish his mission in the Far East...

Chapter 26: The Two Towers

"Welcome back to Minas Tirith!" says the Elder. "How did the hunt for the staff go?"

"The hunt for the staff took me to a remote continent, accessible only through a magical portal." responds Haldor. "I've recently returned through a similar portal, but unfortunately, the portal set deep in the Mines of Moria is not functionning anymore. I am looking for someone to help me create another portal, because my mission in the Far East is not finished yet."

"In this case, let's proceed as quickly as possible. I know one man in Gondor that could help you, a wise man that recently arrived in Minas Tirith. His name is Tannen, and he's living in a tower just north of here. I believe he is your best hope."

Haldor leaves the Elder and goes to Tannen's tower.

"How may I help you?" asks Tannen.

"I need to create a portal between Middle-Earth and a remote continent known as the Far East. The Elder told me you could help me build such a portal."

"To open a portal, you need the Orb of Many Ways. I suppose you don't have that item?"

"In fact, I do have the Orb..."

"Astonishing! I have heard tales of this Orb in ancient texts and legends. May I see it?"

Haldor pulls out the Orb of Many Ways from his backpack.

"Truly, it is the work of a great master. Perhaps Gandalf himself had a hand in its making. And you say you come with instructions of its usage?"

"I do..."

Haldor shows him Zemekkys's scribbled notes. Tannen spends a few minutes reading...

"Ah! I see. I did not at first understand the method used by this elven chronomancer, but I see now that is it correct. We can manage to reproduce his work here, but, as he says, we will need a Blood-Runed Athame and a Resonating Diamond."

"This will pose no problem. I already have these two items in my possession." explains Haldor. "While investigating the Moria, I fought and killed a balrog which had a Blood-Runed Athame and a Resonating Diamond on him."

"One last thing. I will need to study the Orb of Many Ways for a few days. I lack the expertise this Zemekkys possesses, and I have much to learn on the subject if I want to follow his method."

"Here it is. Guard it carefully. I'll be back in a few days... I still have business to do in the area anyway."

Good news... And this will leave Haldor time to find the key to the slime tunnels that is still slipping away from him.

"Oh... I almost forgot." Tannen hands Haldor a key. "This key opens the ruins of Orthanc, which the Mystics of Gondor sealed many years ago. If you happen to find a text in the ruins entitled "Inverted and Reverted Probabilistic Fields", return with it and your odds of surviving our portal attempt will go up drastically."

Tannen points the location of Orthanc on a map. Haldor leaves Minas Tirith and heads to Orthanc.

Chapter 25: Trapped?

Since the Master's demise, a malevolent skeleton archmage has taken control of Tol Falas. Pale Drake is his name. He's immune to fire, so Haldor needs to use mana and lightning against him. And like the Master, he won't die easily... as he is able to resurrect once. But the trick still won't help him... As his bones are scattered by Haldor's final spell, he drops his belongings on the floor. A well-made sling, the Gift to the Shire, and a human skull, the Runed Skull. But still no key...

Haldor should have thought more carefully. The first time he fought numerous orcs in Middle-Earth, it happened in the Moria. What better place would it be to hide a magical key that could open the door to the High Peak? Haldor travels quickly and enters the mines for the second time.

Orcs are still plenty in the mines, ignoring the demise of all their masters in the Far East. Haldor leaves a second trail of orc corpses behind him and reaches the deepest cavern in the mines. When he last saw it, the cavern was full of corpses, all fried by his fire blast spells. Now many more corpses litter the floor, all charred and reeking of sulphur. An orange glow dimly illuminates the far east of the cavern...

The glow intensifies as Haldor advances in the cavern. Suddenly, a huge demon appears. A balrog drawn to this place by the energy of the portal! Haldor needs to rely on his spells again... but Lithfengel the Balrog doesn't reveal to be a tough opponent...

A careful examination of the balrog's corpse reveals a Blood-Runed Athame and a Resonating Diamond. Among the balrog's items, Haldor also finds a pestilent waraxe, the Malediction.

Haldor is confused... This was not the ally of the Orc Pride he was looking for... he didn't carry the key to the slime tunnels. But what was he doing with a Blood-Runed Athame and a Resonating Diamond? These are the items required to build a portal...

Haldor feels something terrible has happened here. He runs to the easternmost part of the cavern, where the portal to the Far East was standing... and his fears are instantly confirmed. The typical glow has disappeared, gone at the same time as all the energies contained in the portal. It will never activate again...

Haldor is trapped in Middle-Earth, unless he finds someone able to establish a link back to the Far East. Maybe the Elder in Minas Tirith would know such a person...

Chapter 24: Deja-Vu

Haldor examines the situation... He has to find the key to the slime tunnels somewhere in a dungeon. But which one? He will have to explore each and every one again...

Haldor enters the Trollshaws. The trolls should pose no threat to him, now that he is much more powerful than he used to be when he entered the forest for the first time. However, the first creature he found the first time... was not the storm wyrm he faces now.

Deeper in the Trollshaws, Haldor meets a sun paladin, Aluin the Fallen. His once shining armour is now dull and stained with blood. He is surrounded by a gloomy aura and despair fills his eyes. He attacks Haldor at once. Haldor responds with spells, and kills the cursed paladin. From his corpse, Haldor picks up a bloody shield, the Sanguine Shield, and a dull black ring, the Ring of Mandos. But nothing looking like a magical key...

The Tower of Amon Sul still looks the same... undead everywhere. Haldor clears a vault he missed the first time, and ventures deeper. On the deepest level, where the Shade of Angmar loomed, he finds a strange spirit, Angmar's Fury. It seems to be the reincarnation of the Shade, looking for vengeance! The fight is intense, as the frightening ghost seems to resist magical damage, but he finally is destroyed, leaving nothing but a ringing amulet behind, the Vox.

The Old Forest seems peaceful once again. There are still wild animals, but nothing that can't be found in a wild forest. Until Haldor finds this huge corrupted Ent, Snaproot. Looking like an old scorched tree, he doesn't like the fire blast that erupts from Haldor's hands at all... The Ent has a lot of life energies, but he burns quite well... Unfortunately, he was not holding anything of value. On his way out, Haldor finds a strange potion, which appears to be the Ever-Refilling Potion of Mana! A really useful find...

The Maze is still the same confusing place. But Haldor has learned how to travel quickly in dungeons now, and he knows where the exits to the tunnels are. Around a corner, he finds a pack of ants leaded by their mother, the Queen Ant. Haldor quickly dispatches the ants... but of course they didn't own anything of value.

Haldor doesn't feel like going inside the Sandworm Lair again. He doesn't sense anything in that place that could hold a magical key... But who knows? As soon as he enters, he feels that something is terribly wrong. The sandworms have all disappeared... Haldor quickly finds the reason... A huge sand wyrm appears, shrieking as it notices what seems to be its next meal. Haldor casts a few spell and kills the ugly Corrupted Sand Wyrm. Like Breagh, this sand wyrm was holding a nice collection of gems. And a putrescent potion, the Wyrm Bile. But still no magical key... Haldor drinks the Wyrm Bile, and feels transformed... but also more talented.

Carn Dum... The icy dragon cave is still bleak and full of snow giants and frost dragons. During his exploration of the dungeon, he finds a shining dagger, Sting, the small sword once wielded by Bilbo Baggins. At the bottom of the cave, Haldor meets a huge and heavily scarred orc, his sword covered in dragon blood. A master of the Orc Pride... Finally Haldor has found someone related to his mission. No doubt he's holding the key he's looking for...

"You!" shouts Haldor. "The Orc Pride has been destroyed. There's no need to fight anymore. Give me the key you're holding and I'll let you go."

"A key?" responds Massok the Dragonslayer. "I don't know what you're talking about... I am here to slay dragons and collect treasures. But your skull will be a nice addition to my collection..."

And Massok rushes out... The hit he scores throws Haldor against the closest wall, his life energies almost all gone. He wouldn't be able to stand another hit, so he teleports to safety and regenerates. Now he has to use all his cunning and talents to avoid being hit again, while throwing his spells at the berserking orc. When Massok finally falls down, Haldor searches his dead body... He finds a skull helm, the artifact Dragonskull Helm, but no key. The orc master was telling the truth after all...

Haldor recalls which dungeons he didn't explore yet. Tol Falas... then Moria. That's about it. He heads south, hoping that his quest will not be in vain...

Chapter 23: Back To Middle-Earth

Haldor knocks on Zemekkys' door again.

"I have found the Blood-Runed Athame, but there was no Resonating Diamond."

"Of course there was no Resonating Diamond..." replies Zemekkys. "Did you think Briagh would let one loose for a second?"

"Briagh?"

"Briagh, the Great Sand Wyrm. He sleeps on a hoard of precious gems and metals. Including diamonds. A Resonating Diamond, you see, is nothing more than a plain diamond before it is infused by Briagh's life energies."

"And where may I find Briagh's lair?"

"South of the Sunwall. I'll mark it on a map..."

Haldor travels south again and enters the sandpit of Briagh. He is welcomed by sand creatures... worms and drakes. Suddenly, he is hit by a massive sand storm from behind. Haldor has just the time to turn around before a huge sand wyrm starts attacking him and summon sandworms to his help. Haldor retreats to a safe spot and starts casting a fire blast. It should be enough to reduce all those worms to ash...

In the lair, Haldor finds Briagh's stash of gems. Among them, a Resonating Diamond... Haldor travels back to the Gates of Morning. This time Zemekkys should be able to create a portal to Middle-Earth.

"I have a Resonating Diamond." says Haldor.

"Then let's go prepare that portal..." replies Zemekkys.

Haldor follows the shabby elf to a clean place in the Gates of Morning. Zemekkys starts to draw runes on the floor using the athame and diamond dust. Suddenly, the ground starts to shake!

"The portal is done!" says Zemekkys.

Without delay, Haldor uses the Orb of Many Ways and activates the portal. In the blink of an eye, he appears in the outskirts of Minas Tirith. But the portal is gone...

"Bah... there is still that portal in the Mines of Moria." he thinks to himself. But is it still the case?

Chapter 22: Demonic Refusal

Limmir the Expert Jeweler lives south of the Gates of Morning in a small clearing. Before trying to go back to Middle-Earth, Haldor decides to go see him and talk about the strange tome he found in Vor Armoury. Limmir peruses the tome quickly and looks amazed.

"This is a wonderful tome. It describes how to create really powerful rings by imbuing gems into them. However, the crafting process requires a special magical place to draw enough power to create the rings. There are rumours of such a place in the southern mountains. Take this scroll... You will be able to summon me with it once you have found that place. In the meantime, I'll retire to study this tome..."

Limmir points a location on a map called the Valley of the Moon. Haldor leaves the Gates of Morning and heads south. Before reaching the Valley of the Moon, he has to go through a system of caverns... and kill many demons!

Ithilthum, the Valley of the Moon, is not really a nice place to stay. The lake in the middle of the valley is filled with deadly poison. Three infernal portals in the northern part seem to be connected to some kind of demonic dimension. And it's the place where he must summon Limmir. Haldor reads the Scroll of Summoning... and Limmir appears.

"This place is corrupted... I will cleanse it." tells Limmir. "Demons will try to stop me, you will need to protect me until the corruption is gone."

Haldor remembers the three portals. He has to make sure no demon gets too close to the central island. He teleports quickly near the portals and, with the help of his spells, holds firm.

Suddenly, a strange gloomy aura emerges from one of the portals. Haldor targets the gloom... and drops of black blood fall on the ground. A balrog cloaked in invisibility... The powerful demon takes many hits, but that doesn't seem to stop him from advancing towards the central island. Haldor teleports back on the island and puts himself between Limmir and the balrog. He sustains the damage inflicted by the balrog's fiery whip while continuously hitting him with spells. Finally, the demon's whip falls on the ground and, a moment later, the hideous corpse of the Corrupted Balrog becomes visible again.

The death of their master doesn't stop the other demons. Haldor is now surrounded and out of supplies to regenerate his life and magical energies. Suddenly, the demons start to scream... and they dissolve in thin air!

"This place is finally free from corruption..." tells Limmir.

About time... From the many objects the demons left behind, Haldor finds the Whip of Gothmog and Glamdring, the Long Sword Foe-Hammer.

"So you can make better rings in this place now?" asks Haldor.

"Yes, thanks to you. I will stay here to study the magical aura. If you bring me a non-magical ring and two gems, I will be able to transform them into a powerful ring."

"I'll keep that in mind..."

Haldor leaves the Valley of the Moon. He still has to find a Resonating Diamond to go back to Middle-Earth and continue his mission.

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