They drive the orcs out of much of the continent. There's probably a lot in the steadily-growing pool of darkness from the spider thing, and there's some in the mountains and other places where it's difficult to root them out, but there are very few areas controlled by them, after a few months of fighting. 

The next version of the endurance artifact works a little better. 

Would having orcs on hand speed things up, or is it mostly not bottlenecked on power -

It's not bottlenecked on power that much, but he could use orcs instead of the Silmarils and maybe Fëanáro would prefer that so he can spend more time researching a superweapon instead of letting Leareth borrow them to test out powering artifact designs. 

He will prefer that but the logistics of getting prisoners in here are nontrivial. Maybe they can Gate a big batch in once; orcs don't seem to commit suicide when captured even though Quendi virtually always do.

Huh. Leareth can wait until a big batch of prisoners is in one place and then Gate them into a well-shielded area, then.

Sure. 

As far as they're concerned we're the monsters and this seems entirely reasonable, really.

That's true. It's not the orcs' fault that they exist and work for Melkor. The fastest way to change that, though, is to win the goddamned war already. 

Yeah. 

Huan catches the other Maia one time, checking out the shields.

There isn't much Leareth can do about that, but he can give them ward-stones for an outer set of shields, of the old type that might be compromised but presumably difficult and noisy to break, so they can have an outer and an inner perimeter. 

Leareth Gates in orcs. He uses them for blood-magic when he has energy-intensive tests to run. The work goes faster than it would otherwise, with the help of Fëanáro's artifact, but it still takes him another month to obtain reliable communications. 

He passes the messages he has lined up and then goes to find Maitimo. 

Congratulations.

"It may still take some time," Leareth admits. "Nobody is quite sure where Vanyel is." As far as Leareth is aware, that includes literally anyone in Valdemar. "He went traveling some time ago. I have alerted my people that finding him is very urgent."

He's sent literally hundreds of agents looking for Vanyel; he has a guess of where he went but not a very solid guess, and if his original guess had been right then Vanyel shouldn't have been away a whole year. Also he's sent a diplomatic party to ask King Randale in Haven. Soon the Heralds are going to be just as confused as his own people are.

"I also explained about the potential refugee situation," he says. "It will be some time before we can transport large numbers of people – in particular, I am concerned that a Gate to Velgarth will be much more detectable by Melkor than an ordinary Gate, so I would want to figure out how to shield that signature. However, they can prepare for it in the meantime." 

"Thank you. I know it's asking a great deal of people who have very little."

"They are not currently at war – in that way, they have more than your people do. The Quendi are able-bodied and can help on the farms to feed themselves. And perhaps someday you can repay the favour." 

Leareth hesitates, then switches to private Mindspeech. :I have something for you. I finished it yesterday: He offers it to Maitimo; it's a new shield-amulet, matched to one of Curufinwë's minimal broken-light-artifacts for permanent power. :It blocks my type of Thoughtsensing but should allow osanwë to pass unhindered. I thought you might appreciate having privacy in your own thoughts, which is only fair, and there are strategic considerations also for when you would wish to keep information from me: 

- he's surprised. He was assuming Leareth was - relying on that, that it was a key ingredient of - well, Maitimo's way of reading people isn't supernatural but he sure wouldn't want to teach his allies immunity to it. 

Thank you. He doesn't put it on immediately.

:I am not expecting betrayal from you: Leareth sends, his mindvoice gentle. :If you were to act against me, it would be because I had done something to warrant it - and perhaps it is good for trust between us, that we both know that I would not see a betrayal coming, and thus I have reason to avoid prompting it. I...am not sure that I trust anybody but you far enough; I am very paranoid; but we have been working closely for some time, now: He smiles. :Anybody Gifted in my own world can shield. I am used to working with people without being able to read all of their thoughts. I do not even pay attention to your thoughts that much nowadays; I am not as good as Quendi are at multitasking:

He doesn't like the sense he has that Maitimo knowing his thoughts are being observed twists them, bends them toward convenience and away from truth. If someone is going to be his ally, he doesn't want them crippled in that way. 

He puts it on. 

You wouldn't have seen it coming anyway. I made some arrangements, when I trusted you less, and I don't know anything about them.

:I did not specifically know that - as you designed it. I suspected you would have, since you are not stupid. It was a reasonable thing to do and I approve:

We are so very lucky that accident brought you here.

:I am glad of it as well. Beyond measure: Leareth isn't nearly as good at reading people as Maitimo is, he knows that, but he's had practice and in particular he's had a few months of experience correlating Maitimo's private thoughts and feelings with his state, and he's paying attention. He suspects Maitimo is being genuine here. (Which seems likely anyway, just given their actual situation.) 

Is there anything else we should know before your friends come through?

:There are some things I ought to tell you about my background with Vanyel in particular. That might be a longer conversation: 

Whenever's convenient for you. - I meant to have someone make you an artifact like my crown, it aids with having conversations in parallel. But it keeps probably not being a reasonable priority. 

:Now is fine - my research is no longer the bottleneck, coordination in Velgarth is. I would like to obtain something to eat first– oh. I did have another question but it is a boring one: He tugs at his hair, which has grown about two inches in the past few months of being here. It's honestly a very irritating length, not quite long enough to straightforwardly tie back but enough to be in the way. :Is my hair long enough that I ought braid it to avoid being indecent by your people's standards? If so, do you have suggestions. I could cut it shorter again but I would prefer to stand out less here: 

Leareth has managed to ask this of the one Quendi who can manage not to blush at all but it's a close thing. 

Suggestions about - how to braid it? Do humans not braid their hair?

:Some humans do but men in the culture I am from usually do not, I have not braided my hair in the last fifty years at least: Not in this lifetime and probably not in the last one either.