She knows about that one... she'll definitely be against this even before hearing what it is.
We could demonstrate the summoning trick and prove that works, but I don't see that affecting much.

And the Fëanorians seem likely to be able to somehow learn it from her.

We could invent an excuse to conspicuously not explain it, maybe, and just show that it works.

That seems even less likely to impress her.

Yeah. Well, we could pretend 'we point this contraption and it happens' is the full story and hope she stays uninterested in the mechanics. Or just let her think we're trigger-happy and reckless.

I am fine with going ahead without her leave, I am less comfortable going ahead without much certainty we won't just escalate the war.

I'm not sure I bought that part, honestly. The Enemy isn't sitting there thinking 'you know what I need for my doomsday device is some really fast incoming weapons,' and if he were he could launch some.

I do not think it is likely that he lacks the capability and we would grant him it, I think it is likely we would annoy him enough for it to be worth it, or destroy the only reason he has for keeping anything in Endorë above water.

That one's more worrying. But– we can't fight a war by trying not to annoy him too much. We might succeed.

That's a good argument for things that might kill him. I am not persuaded by it as an argument for things that might weaken him.

We're weakening him with the constant name-calling. We could have held off until we probably had enough to incapacitate him; should we have?

I am very uncertain. But there was at least no risk the name-calling would leave him with no reason not to kill us.

Maybe it is fatal plans only, then. There's got to be something less slow, if only we knew it–

A Year's not bad, and by then he should have much worse karma...

A Year, and then it might work. If it's a Year I'm almost tempted to try to con the Valar into stealing someone's library, at least if they didn't just send me back we'd be making progress on more things.

Tempting. Regardless of whether we move ahead with this I doubt the war will be over inside a Year, if that is what would convince you to try asking them.

Maybe once I'm superfluous enough that it wouldn't be too much of a loss if they do send me back. Right now I'm never sure there isn't some random trivia that might be important later, like the name summoning.

Yes. We should probably talk to our cousins about having more stable channels of communication, too, before we risk that.

I'm not really sure why they haven't just sent a palantir already, if it's not about gleaning information through me.

They gave Doriath one. I'm leaning towards 'palantiri have other capabilities they'll be inconvenienced when we notice'.

The spying. That does assume we'd notice and Melian wouldn't, since she doesn't know how separate the hosts are and wouldn't keep it secret.

True. I do get the sense we're more innovatively inclined than she, though.

For sure. It's just a weird thing for them to be relying on, if they are.

You can ask him what the delay is.

I think he mentioned it was about security. It's one more possible place even if the Enemy isn't substantially more likely to capture it from here than there. But that being the reason doesn't exactly ring true.