View source for Quest:Near and Dear

{{Infobox Quests
 | name              = Near and Dear
 | level             = 100
 | fellowshiptype    = Solo
 | repeatable        = 
 | queststarter      = [[Forlong]]
 | startinglocation  = [[The Merry Swan]]
 | region1           = Minas Tirith
 | maprefNS1         = 67.0S
 | maprefEW1         = 19.8W
 | questender        = [[Forlong]]
 | endinglocation    = [[The Merry Swan]]
 | region2           = Minas Tirith
 | maprefNS2         = 67.0S
 | maprefEW2         = 19.8W
 | questgroup        = Old Anórien: Minas Tirith
 | class             = 
 | profession        = 
 | race              =
 | questchain        = 
}}
{{Questbox|Quest Chain|collapsed|
{{#lst:Tales of Minas Tirith|MT_Tales-Lord_Forlongs_Feast_Arc}}
}}
{{Questbox| Walkthrough & Notes | collapsed locationList | 
* [[Forlong]], [[Hirluin]], and [[Neldir]] can all be found in the [[Merry Swan]] Tavern, in the [[Craftsmen's Tier]] of [[Minas Tirith]] {{Tooltip Coords|Minas Tirith|67.0S|19.8W}}
* The lookout spot atop the walls can be found across from the Merry Swan, in the Third Circle {{Tooltip Coords|Minas Tirith|67.3S|19.1W}}
* [[Húrin]] can be found at the [[Great Gate]], in the [[Workers' Tier]]. {{Tooltip Coords|Minas Tirith|65.9S|16.8W}}
* Sûhalar can be found throughout the northern half of [[Pelennor Fields]] as well as north of the [[Rammas Echor]], in [[Talath Anor]].
* The magistrates in the [[Masters' Tier|Sixth Circle]] can be found near the [[Dome of the Sun]]:
:* [[Saelnor]] is inside the Dome of the Sun {{Tooltip Coords|Minas Tirith|65.3S|18.8W}}
:* [[Námatur]] can be found near the [[Burgsmens' Fellow-hall]] {{Tooltip Coords|Minas Tirith|65.1S|19.2W}}
* Forlong's Locket can be found in the one of the eastern rooms inside The [[Southern Great Guesthouse]] which in is the [[Citadel]], the Seventh Circle of Minas Tirith {{Tooltip Coords|Minas Tirith|65.8S|19.1W}} His room is guarded by two men in his Livery.
}}

{{Questbox| Rewards | collapsed |
* {{worth|g=|s=39|c=35|dp=}}
* {{Quest Rep|Defenders of Minas Tirith|700}}
* {{IXP}}
* {{SXP}}
* {{Reward|Minas Tirith Silver Piece|3|plural=Minas Tirith Silver Pieces}}
* {{Reward|Box of Two Essences}}
* {{Reward|Tracery, Lvl 86 Uncommon}}
'''Choose one:'''
* {{Reward|City-defender's Ring of Warfare}}
* {{Reward|City-defender's Ring of Strategy}}
* {{Reward|City-defender's Ring of Tactics}}
}}

{{Questbox| Quest Text ||{{toc-right}}
=== Bestowal dialogue ===
'Battles to come! Enemy hosts! Why, there is one perched under the very lintel of Minas Tirith, and here we have been, sitting, utterly ignorant of how they are getting on! Friend {{class}}, you are up and we, as you can see, are down. Would you dash outside, ascend the wall here, and gaze upon the state of the opposing force?'

=== Background ===
Lord Forlong sits in the Merry Swan Tavern, drinking with his old friends Lord Hirluin and one Neldir of Minas Tirith. The conversation turns to matters close at hand and dear to heart.

=== Objective 1 ===
* '''Find a lookout spot on the wall'''
The Third Circle Wall can be accessed via staircase, near to the Merry Swan.

Lord Forlong has asked you to go up upon the walls in the Third Circle and {{Color|Red|look}} upon the enemy forces.

{{Color|Red|NOTE: This objective requires emotes.}} 

:'''Forlong:''' 'Mind you, we three are ready to leap up at a moment's notice and charge into battle. (Even if I must do so with this blasted broken buckle.) But we shall not leap spuriously, before the call, no!'

:''This is  good place to view the enemies upon the Pelennor''

=== Objective 2 ===
* '''{{Color|Red|Look}} upon the enemy forces from the wall'''
The Third Circle Wall can be accessed via staircase, near to the Merry Swan.

Lord Forlong has asked you to go up upon the walls in the Third Circle and {{Color|Red|look}} upon the enemy forces.

{{Color|Red|NOTE: This objective requires emotes.}} 

:''The enemy is making many preparations upon the Pelennor Fields, but shows no clear sign of marshalling an attack''

=== Objective 3 ===
* '''Return to [[Forlong]]'''
The Merry Swan is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

You should return to Forlong with word of what you have seen.

:'''Forlong:''' 'They yet prepare. That is well. Let us err on the side of caution and vigilance, all the same. Will you find Húrin, Warden of the Keys, and inquire as to our general state of readiness, and whether there are final preparations to which we might lend our hands?

:'Húrin was down by the City Gates, last I saw him.'

=== Objective 4 ===
* '''Talk to [[Húrin]], Warden of the Keys'''
Húrin stands by the City Gates, which are at the center of the First Circle of Minas Tirith.

Forlong has asked you to ask Húrin, Warden of the Keys, about the state of preparation and if they can do anything to help.

:'''Forlong:''' 'Go find Húrin, Warden of the Keys, by the City Gates. See if there are final preparations to which we might lend our hands.'

:'''Húrin:''' 'All greater measures have been attended to. The lesser ones are well in hand. Soon we shall have naught but to watch and wait. Neither Lord Denethor nor Mithrandir can foresee or even guess at what the Enemy plans. I know, for I have sat in their councils.

:'As to Lords Forlong and Hirluin... If their men are at the ready and they come swiftly when the horns blow, that is all that is asked of them.'

=== Objective 5 ===
* '''Return to Forlong'''
The Merry Swan is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

You should return to Forlong with Húrin's report.

:'''Húrin:''' 'There would be little point in giving ready fighting men errands about the city. It would only slow their response to the Enemy's attack - and we must assume they may attack at any moment, now.'

:'''Forlong:''' 'Naught to do but wait, eh? My axe will be ready, come what may!'

=== Objective 6 ===
* '''Listen to [[Neldir]]'''
The Merry Swan is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Neldir has to say.

:'''Neldir:''' 'Have you heard there are axe-wielding Easterlings upon the field? So the scouts are saying. They have beards like dwarves and they name them Sûhalar. Imagine you cross such as these in battle, Forlong. Would there be confusion amongst these Sûhalar and the Men of Lossarnach?'

=== Objective 7 ===
* '''Listen to [[Hirluin]]'''
The Merry Swan is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Hirluin has to say.

:'''Hirluin:''' 'One must wonder, Forlong, if these be ancient cousins of your kind. Neldir, do they all have beards, every one?'

=== Objective 8 ===
* '''Listen to Forlong'''
* '''Listen to Neldir'''
* '''Listen to Hirluin'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Heat whether Forlong, Hirluin, and Neldir think the Sûhalar are kin of Dwarves or the Men of Lossarnach.

:'''Forlong:''' 'Cousins? Because they hold axes? What nonsense! Clearly they are Dwarf-kin and no blood of mine!'

:'''Hirluin:''' 'I shall take no sides, but only say that if every man among them has a beard, they are Dwarf-kin. But if their beards vary as we do in height and the colour of our eyes, then I declare them men.'

:'''Neldir:''' 'I know not if they have beards to the very last man. But by the reports, Lord Forlong, they sound much like your people in Lossarnach, who have less of the blood of Númenor. That is where I cast my vote.'

=== Objective 9 ===
* '''Listen to Forlong
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Forlong has to say.

:'''Forlong:''' 'They are Dwarves, and I will have it shown! Our new friend here looks well-travelled and up for some fighting. Perhaps you could bring us back some Sûhalar-beards to settle this dispute.

=== Objective 10 ===
* '''Obtain Sûhalar beards (0/12)'''
The Sûhalar can be found among the enemy's forces, especially north of the Rammas Echor in Talath Anor.

Defeat and gather the beards of some Sûhalar, so that Forlong and company can judge if they are more like Dwarves or Men.

:'''Forlong:''' 'You must settle this dispute for us. Slip out of the City and deprive some Sûhalar of their beards, so we may look over them and judge.'

:''Obtained Sûhalar beards (12/12)''

=== Objective 11 ===
* '''Return to Forlong'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Bring the Sûhalar beards back to Forlong, in the Merry Swan.

:'''Forlong:''' 'Our new friend returns! And have you the beards? Let us look over them and judge.'

=== Objective 12 ===
* '''Listen to Forlong'''
* '''Listen to Neldir'''
* '''Listen to Hirluin'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Forlong, Hirluin, and Neldir think of the Sûhalar beards you brought them.

:'''Forlong:''' 'It is just as I said, they are like unto Dwarf beards.'

:'''Neldir:''' 'Those seem like the beards of mortal men to me, only braided in a foreign fashion.'

:'''Hirluin:''' 'Well! At least there are a handful fewer enemies to fight. That is well done, {{class}}, no matter who is right.'

=== Objective 13 ===
* '''Listen to Forlong:'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Forlong has to say.

:'''Forlong:''' 'Bah! Why can you old fools not see that I am plainly right?'

=== Objective 14 ===
* '''Listen to Hirluin'''
The Merry Swan is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Hirluin has to say.

:'''Hirluin:''' 'Do you see, Forlong, we have fallen to quarreling again. If Mithrandir were here, I think he would say it was the nearness of the Enemy, for discord and strife springs up wherever that shadow falls. Now let us take your own advice, friend, and make peace by raising a glass among well-loved friends.'

=== Objective 15 ===
* '''Raise a glass'''
Forlong and his friends are in the Merry Swan, in the Third Circle of Minas Tirith.

Make peace and drink with Forlong and company.

=== Objective 16 ===
* '''Listen to Forlong'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Forlong has to say.

:'''Forlong:''' 'That was well-spoken, Hirluin. And I hold that we must ever keep love's warmth kindled in our hearts, if we are to prevail against that which shall not be named.'

=== Objective 17 ===
* '''Listen to Neldir'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Neldir has to say.

:'''Neldir:''' 'Not named, but too soon joined in battle, I fear!'

=== Objective 18 ===
* '''Listen to Forlong'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Forlong has to say.

:'''Forlong:''' 'For this moment, I shall not dwell on that, Neldir. I am here with you, old friends and new, in a City I have loved dearly since my youth. And how could I not love it, when it was here that I found Vanyalos, my heart's desire? It was here I wooed here first, and then afterwards in the flowering fields of Lossarnach, my home.'

=== Objective 19 ===
* '''Listen to Neldir'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Neldir has to say.

:'''Neldir:''' 'How people talked! Terenis spurned and her sister Vanyalos wooed in her stead. To this day, I am amazed that you dared defy Lord Denethor in which of his sisters you would wed.' 

=== Objective 20 ===
* '''Listen to Forlong'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Forlong has to say.

:'''Forlong:''' 'Oh, it was not Denethor I trembled before, but Terenis! Her wroth lingers to this day. You should have seen it while the iron was hot!'

=== Objective 21 ===
* '''Listen to Hirluin'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Hirluin has to say.

:'''Hirluin:''' 'You did put Lord Denethor in a difficult position, old friend. He could not take sides between the sisters whom he loved. That he bore it silently and did not set his heart against you speaks much of him, I think.'

=== Objective 22 ===
* '''Listen to Forlong'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Forlong has to say.

:'''Forlong:''' 'You broke some few hearts in that time yourself, Hirluin the Fair. How is it none of those smitten maidens ever softened your resolve and lured you into marriage?'

=== Objective 23 ===
* '''Listen to Hirluin'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Hirluin has to say.

:'''Hirluin:''' 'It was not the path for me. I have chosen another way through life, and hold no regrets.'

=== Objective 24 ===
* '''Listen to Forlong'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Forlong has to say.

:'''Forlong:''' 'Still, you must wonder sometimes what might have been. That maid old Authlin made so much of, who climbed the City walls to you - or didn't, as you maintain - do you never wonder what became of her? Nay, answer not, you would not confess it if you did. She was a magistrate's daughter, I think? Yes. Laranís she was called.

:'Let our new friend ask among the magistrates and councilors up in the Sixth Circle for us and learn what became of her. Then we will see if we can win a blush from that pale fair face of yours!'

=== Objective 25 ===
* '''Ask after Laranís in the [[Masters' Tier|Sixth Circle]]'''
Go up to the Sixth Circle and inquire after Hirluin's old flame, Laranís, among the magistrates and councilors near the Dome of the Sun.

:'''Forlong:''' 'Ask among the magistrates up in the Sixth Circle. See if you can learn what became of Laranís.'

:'''Hirluin:''' 'Nothing will come of this. It is a waste of breath.'

:'''Saelnor:''' 'Laranís? Yes, I know her well. She is in Imloth Melui now and her sons are among Denethor's archers, posted up upon the gates. She is a widow, you know. That is what comes of marrying an older man, though the merchant's wealth he left must console her grief to some degree. Or so I am told wealth sometimes can.'

:'''Námatur:''' 'Yes, I did know Laranís, long ago. She did not wed for many years, and some began to call her a spinster. When she did join in marriage, it was to an older man. I never met him. I do no think he frequented the Sixth Circle.'

=== Objective 26 ===
* '''Return to Forlong'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Return to Forlong with what you have learned of Laranís.

:'''Forlong:''' 'There, Hirluin, that is the path you might have had. Two fine sons, and archers under the Steward!'

=== Objective 27 ===
* '''Listen to Hirluin'''
Forlong and his friends are in the Merry Swan, in the Third Circle of Minas Tirith.

Hear Hirluin's reply.

:'''Hirluin:''' 'Did you note that the husband is dead? If that is where the other path led, then no thank you!'

=== Objective 28 ===
* '''Listen to Neldir'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Neldir has to say.

:'''Neldir:''' 'And I make for the third path, I suppose, for I wed but children never came to us. Do you wish you had sons instead of daughters, Forlong?'

=== Objective 29 ===
* '''Listen to Forlong'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Forlong has to say.

:'''Forlong:''' 'You would have spoken better and more wisely if you had said sons as well as daughters, Neldir. No father with one strand of goodness in him has ever unwished his child, be they boy or girl. Nor could anyone unwish my two flowers.

:'Why, I have their likeness in a locket among my things. And now that we have called to mind that battle coming any hour, I dislike my locket there, so far from my breast. What if the horns should blow, and I were without it? No, this though unsettles me. I am ill at ease.

:'Friend, will you do one last thing and ease my mind? My quarters are up in the Citadel, in the Great Guest-houses. Will you go there, find my locket, and bring it here to me?'

=== Objective 30 ===
* '''Find Forlong's locket'''
The Great Guest-houses are in the Seventh Circle. 

Bring Forlong the locket of his wife and daughters. It is in his quarters in the Great Guest-houses.

:'''Forlong:''' 'My locket will be among my quarters in the Great Guest-houses, in the Citadel. Will you bring it here and put my mind at rest?'

:''Found Forlong's locket''

=== Objective 31 ===
* '''Return to Forlong'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Return to Forlong with his locket.

:'''Forlong:''' 'There it is - my locket. See, friends, here are Vanyalos and our daughters. My heart warms to look on them. Oh ho ho, or is that the wine? No, no. Wine unlocks the doors of the heart, but love must light the hearth!

:'Let us raise one final glass, my friends. You are so dear to me. We must hold this moment and savor it, and let tomorrow come what may!'

=== Objective 32 ===
* '''Raise a glass'''
Forlong and his friends are in the Merry Swan, in the Third Circle of Minas Tirith.

Raise a glass and  drink with Forlong and company.

=== Objective 33 ===
* '''Talk to Forlong'''
The Merry Swan Tavern is on the southern end of the Third Circle.

Hear what Forlong has to say.

:'''Forlong:''' 'Thank you for sharing this time with us, my good {{race}}. I feel a quiet coming on, and I see the same upon the faces of my friends. You are welcome here among us, but I think little more shall be said. Dawn will come soon, or what passes for dawn in these strange days. Yes. We'll greet the new day quietly.'

:With that, Lord Forlong falls silent, and speaks no more.
}}