How about the rescue does go off flawlessly-- but with an odd sense of foreboding-- and then as we are regathering & getting ready for The Jump, out comes Sauron's fleet. We can't jump to hypertime until we have everybody back on board, and (list of people) are missing. I've got a couple candidates for "missing", other folks can come swimming too.
We skirmish a couple of Sauron's lead ships; fortunately he's back in the rearguard (or whatever.)
THen the jump to hypertime also becomes difficult, because of Sauron's oppressive presence, it's hard for Pio to pull everybody together. The fleet scatters through time, and only half of them make it to (the targetted time.) We take another week finding lost ships with the crystal. (or something.) We lose a few: a few ships, a few hobbits, a few elves.
__________________
...down to the water to see the elves dance and sing upon the midsummer's eve.
|