Well, assuming they manage to dissipate the cloud before it goes off and poisons the other host, which is probably the purpose it was originally intended for.

Right. That. It does seem like a solvable problem, even if no solution jumps out as obviously going to work.

More air spirits to slow it down and purify it, maybe raising some barriers to divert it... isn't there a mountain range in between, how was it supposed to go past that?

It narrows and files through the pass almost like something sentient. This is a good place to throw air spirits at it.

Air, and everything else. Stone's slow... how about a tall thin wall of water? Anything solid could move right through, of course, but gas can't. Or shouldn't.

Doesn't.

A collective sigh of relief on that one. Subsequent plans were more desperate.

They've got a few elementals that can do air purification, and people looking for more. Maybe the Fëanorians can contribute, too.

They'll send some. They appreciate the advance warning on the provoking-Melkor, that was thoughtful of the Nolofinweans and let them prepare defenses. 

Did we give them advance notice? someone asks Amber.

The Fëanorians are very welcome on that, and hopefully they'll do the same when they're the ones with the harebrained plot.

Yes. Didn't say what or how, but they think they'll figure it out anyway. All the secrecy wasn't just because of the Enemy.

Huh. Fair enough.

Anticlimactic is probably the best thing they could hope for, for Enemy retaliation, but it's looking like this was that. Take that, Melkor. (Also get over here, you're being called.)

And there is no further retaliation.

Great. Back to the new normal, then.

Amber's taking shorter shifts than the Elves, even though the Nolofinweans never did imitate the oath-fueled endurance. It's not exactly embarrassing, what with the species differences, but hopefully no one is thinking it ought to be.

There's a sudden shortage of practitioners now that there can never be too many on Melkor-baiting duty. They can keep awakening more, and a few more, and watching for the Enemy's next move while plotting their own.

The Enemy continues not reacting.

That's good, probably. Means he's just absorbing the distraction from being called several dozen directions at any given second. Hard to say how good that is without knowing how much bigger than a human's his mind is.

Eventually he gets fed up and heads north from Angband and out of their range.

Well. That's not Melian-leaving-Doriath levels of unexpected, but wow.

They could follow. They'd have to come prepared for cold, and they wouldn't have nearly as many lines of retreat, but they could. If they're annoying enough to cost him more than he gains from being in Angband, maybe they even should.

Or he's hoping to draw everyone north and kill them.

Or that. And we don't actually have anything qualitatively different if it comes to a direct fight.

The Silmarils. Do you think he brought them with him? Because the Fëanorians will know as soon as they look, and the jewels either aren't with him or aren't in Angband. They might try something themselves.

I doubt they's be stupid enough to storm Angband. Or him. But - well, they might be.

Maybe. And, I'm guessing you're right. He speeds up time in Angband, right? He can hang up on us faster than we can call him; whatever we can do is that much weaker. This must be a trap.

Yeah, Valar can influence time in their domains. So - probably. We stay home. And warn them to do the same, if they've noticed their jewelry moving.

Will they be able to? This legitimately is the most vulnerable the Silmarils have been, and it only lasts until the Enemy gives up on the trap and goes back.

Oath's not actually to recover the damned things, just murder anyone who withholds them.

It's also the most vulnerable he's been, even if it is a trap. They'll at least know if anything they have has a shot, I guess.

Yeah. 

Sigh.