A Chronicle of the Years of Unrest

                                     - 1 -
I have cast many auguries and, despite the unreliable nature of such
prognostication, the evidence is quite clear. Powers are gathering,
for both evil and good, and I fear that should I not soon take
precautions, I may find myself overrun in the upcoming wars. I have
collected close to me all of my ancient texts and books of lore, and I
shall lay the most careful plans to assure that instead of my down-
fall, these times will bring about my greater glory. And so I have
decided to keep an annal, a book of these years of unrest, to document
my rise to greater power and influence, as I cleverly take advantage
of the events of these troubled times.

                                     - 2 -
News has reached my ears that many forces are abroad. Some speak of
wizards, though I doubt that these reports are to be taken seriously,
since other tales suggest that they are no more than animal-tamers,
tricksters and fools. Possessed of a few simple illusions they might
confound the common folk, but I am better than to be amazed by tom-
foolery and fireworks. Though I will be wary, and listen to the stories
of these knaves, I think me that I need have little real fear of such
scatterlings.

But these are not the only ones to be considered. Undoubtedly my powers
are great, but the meddlesome elves of Rivendell are to the one side and
very nearby, and rumour is that Sauron's pets the Nazgul are once more
roaming the land on the other side, bent on who knows what secret
campaigns. Caught between anvil and hammer, even I might find myself
hard-pressed.

To this end I must seek me an ally of great power. Many trolls live in
this area, and they have been persuaded to do me service in the past.
Yet their allegiance is shaky at the best of times, and with the promise
of sweet elf-meat or who knows what other rewards, they may yet forsake
me entirely. What is needed in these troubled times is a slave of great
power and fearsome countenance, a creature who will fight at my command,
rending my enemies before they may do me harm.

                                     - 3 -
I have read many histories and bestiaries. Many creatures came to my
mind as potential slaves. Without a doubt the best and most impressive
would be a fire drake. With one such as this, and my own considerable
wisdom, vast knowledge, and power I should be able to stand unopposed
before all but Sauron himself. Better still, there is known to be one
such creature living in the mountains to the northeast of here. If I
could once still this beast, then transport it to my research chamber, I
am certain that it should be possible, given time, to devise a potion or
a spell with which to bend the brute eternally to my will. The key to my
plan therefore is to concoct a philter with which to induce the deepest
of sleeps, such that my trollish allies can carry the creature hither.

                                     - 4 -
After considerable research, I have devised a powerful concoction, which
will prostrate the dragon for several days and nights - quite long
enough for my servants to carry it here and secure it in the crypts. I
have copied the directions to prepare this concoction upon the pages of
my alchemical journal, which I shall keep most secure, lest my enemies
should find and steal the fruits of my researches.

                                     - 5 -
My plans are gone awry! Despite the most careful preparation, the
draught I prepared did not perform efficaciously. I feared the worst
when I spoke of the beast with one who knows where its secret lair is
hid. This oldster survives as a ranger in the mountains, and claims that
he has set eyes upon the creature, yet lived to tell the tale. And the
tale he tells is one of a massive creature, one of the last mighty
winged dragons still living. I wondered at the veracity of this tale,
thinking that the old dotard might be seeking only to impress me,
perhaps fearing I might otherwise do him ill. But I nevertheless took
the simple precaution of tripling the quantity of the brew, to deal with
the creature's supposed great size.

But alas, even this triple dose was insufficient to induce slumber. At
first the beast staggered about a little, as if suffering from
dizziness. But then, instead of the expected slumber, it seemed under
the influence of some sort of delirium. It staggered about the cavern,
thrashing its tail and beating its massive, leathery wings, and all the
while great surges of fire erupted from its massive, flaring nostrils.
Several of my party were incinerated on the spot, and others were dashed
to pieces on the walls of the chamber, swept aside by the creature's
great taloned feet. I hoped that this apparent madness would subside,
and that the beast would yet fall into deep sleep, but as time wore on
the madness only seemed to increase, as if fighting the effects of the
draught were driving the beast to a frenzy. And so it was that I was
forced to abandon the experiment, or risk my very life.

                                     - 6 -
Since my initial plans came to naught, I took up once more my bestiaries
and books of history and lore. If a fire drake cannot be pacified and
brought to do my bidding, perhaps I could seek a lesser creature, and
yet still one of formidable power. Of the dragons that Morgoth brought
forth in the First Age of the Sun there were many breeds. All of my
research leads me to believe that of all these worms, a cold drake might
be the most easily bent to my will. And whilst this is not so powerful
as the winged fire drake, it would nevertheless be a fearsome sight. Its
great strength of tooth and claw, its scales as strong as iron, and its
mighty tail would cause my enemies to quake in their boots - if they 
dared face me at all.

Most of the dragons were destroyed at the end of the First Age, but many
arose again early in this age, appearing in the wastelands to the north,
and in the Grey Mountains. There they have slain many greedy dwarf-lords
and laid waste to their halls and lands. Many of the great creatures
have been destroyed over the centuries, but others may yet be found in
the fastness of the Ered Mithlin. I have gathered about me those whom I 
can trust to do my will, and these I shall dispatch to the Grey
Mountains, whence they will bring me news of the location of one of
these beasts. Meanwhile I myself shall travel across the lands to
replenish those supplies I need for the sedating brew. Many of these are
hard to come by, and the journey will take me as long as those seeking
out the beast. Some of these can be had only in the autumn, and early
winter, falling to the ground and decaying by mid-winter, so I must
hasten lest I am otherwise forced to postpone my plans by a twelvemonth.

                                     - 7 -
My spies have returned with tales of a likely candidate for my plans. I
had hoped to find news of the very beast which once slew those most arrogant
of all dwarf lordlings, the accursed Dain and Fror. But that noble creature
has fallen out of the tales, and so I must settle for a lesser animal. Yet
the tales that are told rumour this creature to have fallen upon no small
number of dwarf lords, devoring not only a number of the foolish runts them-
selves, but also gorging itself upon the contents of their treasure chambers.
The game is now afoot. I shall set forth this very day, and shall not return
til I have the beast ready to bring under my control.

                                     - 8 -
This time everything went according to my plans. Though fairly small for
its kind, the creature nonetheless seemed rather large, but I forbore
the temptation to employ an enhanced dosage of my brew, recalling too
well the strange and violent effect that this had had on the fire drake.
The creature snapped wildly when I threw the concoction his way,
swallowing the thing whole, and after but a short period of agitation, it
fell into a most profound slumber. The journey back from the mountains
was a long and most tortuous one, and I often feared that my balky troll
slaves would abandon the labour of transporting the animal. But betimes
we reached my home, and the fearsome beast was transported to the
crypts. There he lies still, and I know not when he will awake from his
repose. But this gives me more time to perfect the incantations I shall
use to bend the brute forever to my will.

                                     - 9 -
Another failure and this one almost cost me my life. As the beast began
to awaken I started to cast my spells, using a magical focus to help me
concentrate the energies and to aid in concentration on the more complex
parts of the incantation. But this creature seemed immune to even my
most powerful magic, and as I tried to force my will upon it, it rose
against me in anger. But for the lingering effects of the sleeping
draught, it would surely have destroyed me then. But as it was still in
something of a torpor, I was able to marshal my remaining strength, and
magically I wrought great pain in the very body of the beast. As I had
caused it no mean injury it retreated into some deep caverns at the back
of the crypts. And therein I magically sealed the animal for all time,
unless it should manage to dig through the tough bedrock of the region,
and again win to the surface of the world.

                                     - 10 -
News has reached me which seems to rumour my peril and yet offers me a
small comfort. The beast which I had thought forever trapped by the hard
rocky strata of this region almost won its way back to the surface. In 
its frenzied tunneling it apparently found a way toward the dungeons of
the fortress which lies some distance to the west of here. Reports of the
ensuing incident are but sketchy, for my spies in distant Norbury are few
and woefully unreliable. But to all accounts the creature did the garrison
great damage, slaying a number of the men, and laying waste to much of the
structure of the cellars. But I was spared the trouble of having to quell
the brute, which I would surely have to do were it to win forth and start
ravaging these lands. The dunderheaded Dunadans managed by brute force to
seal the creature once more away from their catacombs, by collapsing the
tunnels behind it.