Bestowal dialogue
The Stone of Wyrgende
"I have business in Snowbourn, but first I would see Wyrgende's Stone. Will I next fall to the crone's curse?"
Background
You have come to the Stone of Wyrgende with Éomer, the nephew of King Théoden.
Objective 1
Éomer has come to the Stone of Wyrgende, but you have not entirely divined his purpose for doing so.
You should speak to Éomer to learn why he has come to this grim place before continuing on to Snowbourn.
- Drewett: 'The Stone of Wyrgende is a place of great sorrow for the people of Rohan, and for its Kings.'
| Drewett explains the history of the Stone
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- What can you tell me of this stone?
- 'This is the Stone of Wyrgende, and it is a place of sorrow for the people of Rohan. The greed of King Fengel doomed his line, and the kingdom has languished in the years since he crossed paths with the crone of Wyrgende. The runes on the stone bear long study, and that is what I have given them.'
- I see.
- But the carved runes are so high!
- 'There is much that is unusual in the old tales. That is the way of such things.'
- Perhaps.
- What does the inscription read?
- 'Would you like to hear the Curse of Wyrgende as it was written in the runes? I have dedicated my life to the study of such things, and am pleased to share it with others. This is what it sounds like aloud:
- Hydig Fengel, wanhoga ic ðe hate
- gnornung sceal bið seedleænung þin grædignnysse.
- Nan reccend þin ryhtfæderencynnes longe gebideð sceal
- Nan sunu sceal on þin stole setteð.
- Cynn and cyningdom þin crafiende acwellede hæfð
- oð þæt mihte Mearces edniwigende is.
- Wyrgende
- 'Lovely, is it not? But the meaning is anything but lovely, of course:
- 'Feckless Fengel, fool I name thee,
- Grief shall be the get of thy greed.
- No lord of your line shall long live,
- Upon thy seat no son shall settle.
- Kin and kingdom your craving hath killed,
- Until the might of the Mark is mended.
- 'The means of breaking the curse is unknown, but it is widely believed that only once the Kingdom of Rohan is able achieve the greatness it had of old will the curse be broken.'
- Interesting.
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- Éomer: 'There it lies, <name>: the Stone of Wyrgende. Do you know the tale?'
- Éomer seems surprised to hear that you have been told the tale of Wyrgende the Crone and King Fengel, but then realization dawns.
- 'Ah, of course you would know it. How could you travel with a bard such as Horn and not know it? It is a popular tale, though it be grim and unpleasant. I expect it is true in all lands: the people enjoy stories that seem to explain their poor lot or continued hardship.'
- Walk with Éomer to the Stone of Wyrgende
- Éomer says, "The Mark's finest lore-masters pored over the words of Wyrgende's Curse."
- Éomer says, "They read it thus: that no son born of Fengel or his heirs would survive to sit long upon the throne."
- Éomer says, "They thought the Curse would end if something happened to restore the lost glory of Rohan."
Objective 2
Éomer is at the Stone of Wyrgende.
- Éomer: 'It was thought for many years that Wyrgende's Curse had already expired. My uncle's grandfather, Thengel, lived in Gondor, and the lords of Rohan called a witan and begged him to return to the Mark and take the throne. They said he was virtuous enough and would be such a good king that his reign was certain to end the curse; indeed, Thengel lived long, and his son Théoden now has many years behind him.
- 'It seems now, with the death of Prince Théodred, that the Curse merely slumbered. Perhaps it did not affect Thengel or my uncle because they were already born, or because they were not in the Riddermark when it was set. None but Wyrgende can know, and she is long-dead.
- 'The Curse that did not affect Thengel did affect his daughters, and few of their sons survived to reach adulthood.'
- Listen to Éomer's musings at the Stone of Wyrgende
- Éomer says, "I am of the line of King Fengel, <name>."
- Éomer says, "Will the Curse of Wyrgende now affect me?"
- Éomer says, "Am I fated to die, and Rohan to suffer? Will all I seek to accomplish come to naught?"
Objective 3
Horn and Corudan are at Wyrgende's Stone.
- Corudan: 'The deeds of the past often have grave effects on the present, <name>. Curses have power, and with the force of belief behind them they can become even more powerful. How else can the misfortune of Fengel's line be explained? And how will knowledge of the Curse affect Éomer's actions now?
- 'The people of Rohan need him to be strong. He cannot cower in fear of Wyrgende's memory, or his people will suffer.'
- Horn: 'I had been so certain the Curse was broken, as had been all of Rohan. What must it be like to labour 'neath the shadow of such a thing, and never know when it will reveal its fangs?
- 'If Éomer out of fear refuses to fight the evils that face our land, then King Fengel's greed will have struck the death-blow for Rohan.'
- Éomer says, "We're under attack! Mount up and slay them all!"
Objective 4
Orcs are attacking the area near Wyrgende's Stone!
Objective 5
Éomer is at the Stone of Wyrgende.
- Éomer: 'The Orcs have unwittingly helped me, <name>. During the battle, I had no thought at all for Wyrgende or her Curse.
- 'I have made up my mind. I will not allow the Curse of Wyrgende to control my actions. I am my own man, Éomund's son, and I do not fear the memory of ill deeds done or vengeance sought! I will fight for the people of Rohan until I no longer can do so, and even then I will keep fighting!
- 'I have given Wyrgende the time I thought she was due, and now I put the Stone behind me and will think of it no more! Onward, to Snowbourn! We are needed!'
- Éomer: 'We are needed at Snowbourn! We will not delay!'
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