On further consideration, that would probably be the answer to "dwarf eggs" rather than "dwarf egg."
As it happens, you are probably looking for the Nimphelos - the pearl given by Thingol to the chieftain of Belegost, which was said to be the size of a dove's egg.
That's it exactly.
Nice work.
You are up!
Like I told you... What I said...Steal your face right off your head.
That last guess got me to thinking of something related. Is it Theoden's gift of Shadowfax to Gandalf for freeing him from Wormtongue's treachery?
'You choose well,' said Theoden; 'and I give him now gladly. Yet it is a great gift. There is none like to Shadowfax.'- From The Two Towers
Another good guess! Still not the one!
I did realize as I posted this one that there would be several good answers. I'd like to keep it going and see if someone can guess the one I have in mind...
Perhaps a hint? This case was not alleged as in Stride's guess, and it was unexpected as well.
The Crimson Burglar Squad - First you see Red...Then you are dead.
I think the key here is "reparations" which is not the same as "gift" or "tribute." It is more in the nature of recompense for harm or wrongful conduct. I think the answer is the money Butterbur paid Merry for the ponies that were "stolen" the night the nazgul attacked the Prancing Pony. It later turned out they had only run off, but Butterbur stepped up and paid Merry reparations because Butterbur felt that he had failed in his duty to keep the ponies safe.
Hmm... so many different ways to interpret this... so I guess I'll go with one that no one else has taken yet:
Felarof submitting himself to Eorl as reparation for his father's death.
Well, I suppose you could always say "flame resistant sunglasses" if you prefer that to "shoes"
I think the key here is "reparations" which is not the same as "gift" or "tribute." It is more in the nature of recompense for harm or wrongful conduct. I think the answer is the money Butterbur paid Merry for the ponies that were "stolen" the night the nazgul attacked the Prancing Pony. It later turned out they had only run off, but Butterbur stepped up and paid Merry reparations because Butterbur felt that he had failed in his duty to keep the ponies safe.
You got it! Nicely done!
I pass the riddle-stick to you!
The Crimson Burglar Squad - First you see Red...Then you are dead.
I require two distinct qualifying answers in order to earn the riddle stick. "Doom" here does not necessarily mean "fated end" or have a supernatural connotation. The trio must have some clear and direct connection to each other. The answer cannot cherry pick three examples from a larger related set. For example, I won't except Turin, Nienor and Morwen, because I don't think you can properly exclude Hurin and Finduilas (although the latter is more debatable). Of course, I can already hear the counterarguments in my head as to why Hurin could properly be excluded because it was really his family that was cursed because of his defiance of Morgoth, whereas Hurin himself was not subject to the same "doom." But I think you get the idea.
This is one of those questions where I have some answers in mind but I just know that the group is going to come back with viable responses I never considered. One of the answers I am thinking of is obvious. The other is much more of a lore nugget and is very different from the first.
"Doom" here does not necessarily mean "fated end" or have a supernatural connotation. The trio must have some clear and direct connection to each other.
Frodo, Sam and Gollum.
They ended up together at the "Cracks of Doom" when the One Ring was destroyed in the lava.
They are connected in several ways, the most significant is that they were all ring bearers, a rather exclusive distinction.
Like I told you... What I said...Steal your face right off your head.
Narya, Nenya, Vilya - The Three Rings of the Elves
They shared the same possible (and proven true) 'doom' when the One Ring was destroyed: to lose their power. They were crafted by Celebrimbor and in the end sailed together into the uttermost west with their bearers.
Narya, Nenya, Vilya - The Three Rings of the Elves
They shared the same possible (and proven true) 'doom' when the One Ring was destroyed: to lose their power. They were crafted by Celebrimbor and in the end sailed together into the uttermost west with their bearers.
Yes, this is certainly one I had in mind. (Their bearers cannot now be used as the second answer, as that would not be a "distinct" solution.)
They ended up together at the "Cracks of Doom" when the One Ring was destroyed in the lava.
They are connected in several ways, the most significant is that they were all ring bearers, a rather exclusive distinction.
Not what I had in mind, but clever. I am wrestling with whether I can accept it. I think I cannot. I wasn't really working a play on words, although unfortunately I think perhaps I may have invited that somewhat by my overexplanation of what "doom" means (or doesn't necessarily mean) in the riddle. To re-clarify, "doom" does need to mean something in the nature of "meets an untimely end." It just doesn't have to have a "fate" component to it, even though "doomed" is sometimes understood to have that connotation (especially in a magic world).
So, long story short, sorry Borraxe. I know you are tough enough to take it and come back swinging.
To recap where we stand with this, we have one acceptable answer and need another "doomed trio". I can think of at least one other solution, and I have cautioned the group that it is rather different in kind from the three rings answer and much less prominent in the lore.
Still wanting to figure out the Doomed Trio you have in mind. So, places... The three I can think of with common links between them are the Elvish kingdoms of Gondolin, Doriath and Nargothrond. They each fell under the curse of Morgoth which was laid upon Turin, the son of Hurin.
Places indeed. But I don't think there is a clear enough connection among the three you mentioned. I don't buy that Doriath fell because of Morgoth's curse on Turin, for example. I think that was much more clearly a consequence of Thingol's greed and lust over the Silmaril. I suppose you could say that all three were elven kingdoms that were destroyed, but even there I don't think you can properly distinguish those three in particular from the other realms in Beleriand that also fell during those times (e.g., Hithlum). Maybe all three were hidden kingdoms that were destroyed? Too tenuous I think, especially given that Doriath fell not to Morgoth but to the sequential attacks by the dwarves of Nogrod and the sons of Feanor (i.e., in contrast to Gondolin and Nargothrond).
Long story short, you are on the right track conceptually but not there yet.
Well, if not those 3 places, how about:
Doriath, Nargothrond and Moria (Dwarrowdelf)?
These were all cave or underground metropolises doomed to ruin by the forces of Morgoth.
Doriath -> destroyed indirectly as a result of The Curse of Feanor which was the result of treachery/theft/destruction instigated and carried out by Morgoth.
Nargothrond -> destroyed ultimately by the dragon Glaurung sent by Morgoth.
Moria -> ruined by a Balrog of Morgoth.
Like I told you... What I said...Steal your face right off your head.
I still think Doriath is the odd man out in that trio. I just don't feel that its destruction can be linked closely enough to Morgoth. Gondolin/Nargothrond/Moria probably would have been a better set. Even there I think the balrog's role in Moria was more that of a free agent rather than acting on behalf of Morgoth.
I am definitely thinking of three kingdoms, and they are very clearly and closely related - no stretches necessary.
I would have had to accept that . Still not what I originally had in mind, which was Cardolan, Rhudaur and Arthedain. All destroyed by the Witch King. You might even say they were doomed to fall after they were divided into three separate kingdoms.
To respond to the current riddle I'll quess the sky duet is Tillion and Arien the Maiar who guide the Moon and Sun.
Edit: The song is The Narsilion yes?
That's an answer I didn't foresee, but it is clearly an answer (probably better!) to the riddle I posed. It's also close in source to the answer for which I was looking. I pass the riddle stick to you!
The answer I was going for was Manwe (air/wind) and Ulmo (oceans/water). Two of the mightiest Ainur, took part in the great song. They met in the sky (air&wind+clouds). Storms might be said to be their duet.
Gollum, as perceived by the woodmen who lived around the eaves of Mirkwood.
Arguably Thuringwethil would qualify, but as there is no express statement in the text to that effect I am going with the passage about Gollum (I believe it is part of Gandalf's speech during the Council of Elrond).
Gollum, as perceived by the woodmen who lived around the eaves of Mirkwood.
Arguably Thuringwethil would qualify, but as there is no express statement in the text to that effect I am going with the passage about Gollum (I believe it is part of Gandalf's speech during the Council of Elrond).
Gollum is not the answer I had in mind.
However (I don't have my text available just now), if you can give me a quote from the text that specifically refers to Gollum as drinking blood (or reffered to as a blood drinker in some way), then the stick is yours.
Like I told you... What I said...Steal your face right off your head.
FotR Chapter 2, The Shadow of the Past (pg. 67 in my edition):
"The wood was full of the rumour of him, dreadful tales even among beasts and birds. The Woodmen said that there was some new terror abroad, a ghost that drank blood. It climbed trees to find nests; it crept into holes to find the young; it slipped through windows to find cradles."
Perhaps you were looking for Gurthang? "And from the blade rang a cold voice in answer: 'Yea, I will drink thy blood gladly, that so I may forget the blood of Beleg my master, and the blood of Brandir slain unjustly. I will slay the swiftly.'" (The Silmarillion, Of Turin Turambar, pg. 225)
For my money, that passage is one of the stranger moments in the legendarium considering that JRRT has given us what is otherwise a very "low magic" world.
Melkor's black spear is correct. Hopefully you didn't have that fresh in your mind from my recent proposed answer in the obfuscated trivia thread. I knew in posing the "Ebon lance" question that it was rather like Bilbo's "fish on table" riddle - untimely in context.
<br>
<br>
True, I had just been reviewing the obfuscated thread, but what sent me to "black spear" was, I think, more related to reading Caxton's translation of Mallory's Arthurian saga (that can be so tedious, but I persevere...). In that, a lance is almost always referred to as a spear. And, I could not readily come up with a memory of Tolkien using "ebon" anything, so a simple substitution gave me "black spear" and I thought I remembered a connection to Melkor and began skimming, starting with the Ungoliant misadventure.
So, now a new one.
solitary conjunction
Like I told you... What I said...Steal your face right off your head.
Sorry for the delay. I've been away from a computer. Here is the next one:
Ebon lance.
You may be referring to the black spear that Melkor/Morgoth used when he "smote each tree to its core" when he and Ungoliant attacked the Two Trees in Valinor.
BTW, you are correct in thinking that Gurthang was the answer I was looking for in reference to "blood drinker".
Like I told you... What I said...Steal your face right off your head.
Melkor's black spear is correct. Hopefully you didn't have that fresh in your mind from my recent proposed answer in the obfuscated trivia thread. I knew in posing the "Ebon lance" question that it was rather like Bilbo's "fish on table" riddle - untimely in context.
Grand Member Online status:
Reputation:
Originally Posted by Vilnas
Grand Member Online status:
Poster of Note Online status:
Senior Member Online status:
Senior Member Online status:
Reputation:
Senior Member Online status:
Junior Member Online status:
So, places... The three I can think of with common links between them are the Elvish kingdoms of Gondolin, Doriath and Nargothrond. They each fell under the curse of Morgoth which was laid upon Turin, the son of Hurin.
Member Online status:
Reply With Quote
Posting Permissions
