Correct explanation for Tower Hills. Anor is an anagram of roan, which I recall from bio class is an excellent example of codominance, but outside the world of genetics it means that the animal's coat has hairs of two different colours.


1. PLACES OF THE PALANTIRS: Theme goes here.
2. ANNUMINAS: One sin: imperfect after a year in the capital.
3. OSGILIATH: Middle of the starry fortress on the river.
4. AMON SUL: Endless lust, moan in turmoil on the hill.
5. ANOR: The second of two-coloured animal coat, disoriented in the sun.
6. TOWER HILLS: Water shell? One becomes none, fifth becomes one, in confusion face the west.
7. ITHIL: The moon stirs one noteless light.
8. ORTHANC: Step up, and Norse god can shake the tower.

Having done a slight bit of Palantir research for this password, I can confirm that the Tol Eressea stone is an entity of its own. The 7 that Elendil&co brought to ME are all in ME. 3 were in Arnor: Annuminas (later moved to Fornost and drowned with Arvedui), Amon Sul / Weathertop, and the White Towers (looking out to the West, towards the Eressea stone, also known as Elendil's stone). The 4 stones of Gondor were in Osgiliath (lost in Anduin, I think?), Minas Ithil (captured by Sauron), Minas Tirith (burned out of commission by Denethor), and Orthanc (serves as an excellent ballistic missile... no?). The chief of all 7 was the Osgiliath stone, also known as the master-stone.

The stone at Tol Eressea was it's own thing. It's also called a Master-stone, possibly on purpose to be confused with Gondor's master-stone. It has power over the ME stones. But I can't remember if it also has power over other stones that never left the West - I mean, surely it's not the only stone that remained in Valinor. Research time! Per Enc of Arda: The chief of all the palantíri, both in Aman and Middle-earth, which was held in the Tower of Avallónë on the Lonely Isle of Tol Eressëa. So I suppose its power actually extended fairly extensively.



Excellent job with the password, Hui! Over to you. :)

I got as far as roan, but no further. ;)

Well done, Huey, and great password, Galadriel!

I got nowhere near it. :)

Excellent password, G55, and very nicely themed!

1. - A chocolate frog? O but Ed, no! He is no lord!
2. - Turn round and restore the sun god in the evening.
3. - Middle-earth's GREATEST singer left his signature underground.
4. - Half-resist the sale, mix it up with many titles.
5. - On the radio, the next word: Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima!
6. - One thing the movie archers did not do; it's pretty hot.
7. - A French element in the belly of a ship; instead of the end, a hole (and French swapped and moved) - wear a mask here!
8. - Um (not um)... look back, briefly see the Sea, lose one, and it's lonesome.
9. - A space station! Quick, it's okay, it's just a tree (but it's dark...)
10. - As it took the Fifth, it roared.

The theme here is very specific but might be hard to spot; fair warning.

hS

4. ELESSAR? Contains SALE + RES(ist), and definitely has many titles.

Yep! Spot on.

1. - A chocolate frog? O but Ed, no! He is no lord!
2. - Turn round and restore the sun god in the evening.
3. - Middle-earth's GREATEST singer left his signature underground.
ELESSAR - Half-resist the sale, mix it up with many titles.
5. - On the radio, the next word: Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima!
6. - One thing the movie archers did not do; it's pretty hot.
7. - A French element in the belly of a ship; instead of the end, a hole (and French swapped and moved) - wear a mask here!
8. - Um (not um)... look back, briefly see the Sea, lose one, and it's lonesome.
9. - A space station! Quick, it's okay, it's just a tree (but it's dark...)
10. - As it took the Fifth, it roared.

hS

A slightly tongue-in-cheek answer for 6 - FIRE?

Can't find the elements, but going to suggest ANDUNE (evening) for clue 2.

Yep! Based on my memory that the subtitles always say 'Loose!' rather than 'Fire!'.

Sadly not; a slightly less literal evening.

1. - A chocolate frog? O but Ed, no! He is no lord!
2. - Turn round and restore the sun god in the evening.
3. - Middle-earth's GREATEST singer left his signature underground.
ELESSAR - Half-resist the sale, mix it up with many titles.
5. - On the radio, the next word: Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima!
FIRE - One thing the movie archers did not do; it's pretty hot.
7. - A French element in the belly of a ship; instead of the end, a hole (and French swapped and moved) - wear a mask here!
8. - Um (not um)... look back, briefly see the Sea, lose one, and it's lonesome.
9. - A space station! Quick, it's okay, it's just a tree (but it's dark...)
10. - As it took the Fifth, it roared.

hS

Undomiel, then?

Undo for turn around, perhaps?

I believe the title of Greatest singer was attributed to Daeron, closely followed by Maglor. However, I'm not sure how Daeron leaves a signature underground. :confused:

My thoughts too. And Maglor's Silmaril went into the sea, I think.

Correct person, but wrong name. I'll accept it. (NEW RA reversed)

Pah! Neither of them can hold a candle to the true musical master of Middle-earth!

1. - A chocolate frog? O but Ed, no! He is no lord!
ARWEN - Turn round and restore the sun god in the evening.
3. - Middle-earth's GREATEST singer left his signature underground.
ELESSAR - Half-resist the sale, mix it up with many titles.
5. - On the radio, the next word: Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima!
FIRE - One thing the movie archers did not do; it's pretty hot.
7. - A French element in the belly of a ship; instead of the end, a hole (and French swapped and moved) - wear a mask here!
8. - Um (not um)... look back, briefly see the Sea, lose one, and it's lonesome.
9. - A space station! Quick, it's okay, it's just a tree (but it's dark...)
10. - As it took the Fifth, it roared.

hS

Really wanna get these out of my system. 1 inevitably makes me think of DUMBLEDORE, a word that actually appears in one of the poems and therefore has a Tolkien connection too. And 10 makes me think of RAUROS. No explanation for either.

There's 'red then it roared, rolling water's from the Mundburg lament thingy.

3. GOT IT! Slartibartfast.

Joking. It's RANKIN & BASS, innit? :D

:D Sadly no (but definite future password idea there!). And also no to Rauros; this roaring isn't as constant.

Not that roaring either.

:D So no to either of those, but you're taking the clue about as seriously as intended - which is to say, not.

hS

Is 3 Melkor, because he sang at the Music of the Ainur and was the greatest of them?

Either that, or it's the drummer in the deep. :D

(Seriously, good thinking! I was nowhere near this level of out-of-the-boxness.)

Or maybe Bombur, because all but 2 of the dwarves played music at the Unexpected Party, but Bombur was the FATTEST?

Ah ... singers, not just musicians.

...

They sang as well, though!

All of these answers are cleverer than mine... :(

Perhaps I should amend the clue to 'The singer of the GREATEST songs in Middle-earth', etc. Because they're totally the best ever!

One of the last few answers is linguistically very close to the person being referenced.

hS

Bilbo or Sam?

Or ... Bombadil ...?

If Sam, is his underground signature the pans he cast away in Mordor?

Bombadil is the character (but not the answer) ; 'left his signature underground' contains, but is not entirely, the straight clue.

hS

Barrow-Wight?

So you're right that 'underground' is the straight clue; 'Tom Bombadil left his signature' is therefore the cryptic clue. :) It does not refer to an actual event.

hS

Perhaps FORN then? Bombadil's name, as it would appear underground with the Dwarves?

Or, on a different branch, UNDERHILL? Though not directly connected to Tom Bom. :confused:

Not Underhill. As for Forn... well, the dwarves are where 'underground' comes from, but Forn is not related. That's his name, not his signature. Signatures are (often) shorter.

hS

Just noticed an error in #8 ('lose one' snuck in there), so here's the password again with it corrected.

1. - A chocolate frog? O but Ed, no! He is no lord!
ARWEN - Turn round and restore the sun god in the evening.
3. - Singer of Middle-earth's GREATEST songs left his signature underground.
ELESSAR - Half-resist the sale, mix it up with many titles.
5. - On the radio, the next word: Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima!
FIRE - One thing the movie archers did not do; it's pretty hot.
7. - A French element in the belly of a ship; instead of the end, a hole (and French swapped and moved) - wear a mask here!
8. - Um (not um)... look back, briefly see the Sea, and it's lonesome.
9. - A space station! Quick, it's okay, it's just a tree (but it's dark...)
10. - As it took the Fifth, it roared.

For #3: how could you write Tom Bom's signature in a way that gives an undergroundy word?

For #1: the straight clue is a direct textual reference, not anything oblique.

And I will admit that the 'French element' in #7 is a chemist's joke. :D

hS

And suddenly it daens. Though the correction to the clue had very little to do with it.

8. ERESSEA: ER + SE(E) + SEA.

Correct! I have no idea why I tried to clue for 'Eresse' instead...

1. - A chocolate frog? O but Ed, no! He is no lord!
ARWEN - Turn round and restore the sun god in the evening.
3. - Singer of Middle-earth's GREATEST songs left his signature underground.
ELESSAR - Half-resist the sale, mix it up with many titles.
5. - On the radio, the next word: Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima!
FIRE - One thing the movie archers did not do; it's pretty hot.
7. - A French element in the belly of a ship; instead of the end, a hole (and French swapped and moved) - wear a mask here!
ERESSEA - Um (not um)... look back, briefly see the Sea, and it's lonesome.
9. - A space station! Quick, it's okay, it's just a tree (but it's dark...)
10. - As it took the Fifth, it roared.

hS

I Ben-adar?

But there's nothing underground about that.

There is not.

The answer is an English word, which could also be a signature for Mr. Bombadillo.

hS

Tomb?

Tom B. it is! Sorry about that clue; it was the first one I thought of, and I don't think I sanity checked it too well. :)

1. - A chocolate frog? O but Ed, no! He is no lord!
ARWEN - Turn round and restore the sun god in the evening.
TOMB - Singer of Middle-earth's GREATEST songs left his signature underground.
ELESSAR - Half-resist the sale, mix it up with many titles.
5. - On the radio, the next word: Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima!
FIRE - One thing the movie archers did not do; it's pretty hot.
7. - A French element in the belly of a ship; instead of the end, a hole (and French swapped and moved) - wear a mask here!
ERESSEA - Um (not um)... look back, briefly see the Sea, and it's lonesome.
9. - A space station! Quick, it's okay, it's just a tree (but it's dark...)
10. - As it took the Fifth, it roared.

Hang on - Freddo is a real world chocolate frog confection. Clue is saying O, not ED. SO:

FRODO

Who is not the Lord of the Ring(s), as Gandalf tells Pippin.

Password: Fate of Dead?

Spot on! Freddos are delicious. :D And I figured they /probably/ hadn't been used to clue Frodo before.

Close, but no silver-bound pipe with pearl mouthpiece.

FRODO - A chocolate frog? O but Ed, no! He is no lord!
ARWEN - Turn round and restore the sun god in the evening.
TOMB - Singer of Middle-earth's GREATEST songs left his signature underground.
ELESSAR - Half-resist the sale, mix it up with many titles.
5. - On the radio, the next word: Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima!
FIRE - One thing the movie archers did not do; it's pretty hot.
7. - A French element in the belly of a ship; instead of the end, a hole (and French swapped and moved) - wear a mask here!
ERESSEA - Um (not um)... look back, briefly see the Sea, and it's lonesome.
9. - A space station! Quick, it's okay, it's just a tree (but it's dark...)
10. - As it took the Fifth, it roared.

hS

Very clever and very crafty. First we think Harry Potter confectionery, then I was searching for names that sound like 'Ribbit.'

Tricksy Huinesoron! Tricksy in his untricksiness!

FATE OF HERO? (Notholding out much hope with this, but ....)

Maybe there are 5 pairs, each a hero(ine) with their fate. Frodo and Eressea and Elessar and Tomb are there already.

In which case, could the last two be Mithrandir and Balrog, with something like mound or hill to go with Arwen and maybe Denethor to go with fire?

Mithrandir has MIR in it (and does rest of name have the elvish for dark?) and we use the 5th letter of Balrog - did it roar when it trapped its wing? :D

This is some really creative thinking! But wrong in every way. :p

In the interests of fairness, I will say that 'fate' means 'last confirmed' rather than 'last possible', and that Elessar does indeed refer to He Of Many Names.

hS

PS: Of course the Balrog roars! Haven't you seen the Bakshi documentary? ^_~

Bum!

I was totally convinced that I was right!

I'm serious, it was really impressively creative. I felt bad saying it was wrong... :)

Of the remaining clues, I think #9 is probably the easiest to solve, while #5 is probably the biggest hint at the theme. Um, and please be aware that punctuation means basically nothing around me - the various exclamation marks are just me getting excited. ^_^

hS

I think I've got 9.

MIRKWOOD?

MIR + (O)K(AY) + WOOD (tree).

It's a dark place.

FATE OF GEMS?

MIRKWOOD - Bilbo gives that jewelled necklace to Thranduil.
FRODO bears Arwen's gem into the West.
TOMB - the Arkenstone on Thorin's breast?
FIRE - One of the Silmarils?
ERESSEA - THE stones in Narya, Nenya and Vilya?
ELESSAR - The Elessar. ;)

It's a fantastic clue! What a creative way to make words out of other ME words! "Signature" makes absolute sense now too. :)

Wow, you were so far ahead of me. I still couldn't shake the Harry Potter connection.


I have no idea what the rest are, I only get as far as individual bits. The station is perhaps the ISS, and I am almost convinced the element is Francium. But unless the answers are fastissoak and Shirfo, I am afraid that doesn't get me very far. :D

If "belly of ship" is actually a part of the ship, not just the element placement, could be something like bay or hold. Brig? Hull? Cargo? Dunno.


Edit: crossed with Pervinca - Nice!