"What was she doing?"

"No one could get into Doriath. Refugees died at the edge."

"There's an argument it was the right policy - easy for the Enemy to plant people among anyone we let in."

"Like the villages of orcs. Of course."

"It's his whole game, giving you choices like that."

Nod.

"We haven't had to do that here but if Sauron wins the war we almost certainly will."

"Who is here?"

"Sorry?"

"Who is living in your protected area," she clarifies.

"Mostly locals who've been here since we left for Valinor. About sixty thousand."

Nod.

"You can take some humans in but not as many as you'd think, they need - willingness to routinely investigate and enforce rules - like, they'll take other peoples' things and hide they did it, and it doesn't come up much as long as they know there'll be trouble over it but it comes up all the time if you just - trust them not to -"

"...Orcs have more of a crime rate than Elves but it's not a regularity -"

"It's not universal but I don't have the institutions for it, and especially not mid-war-with-Sauron."

Sigh. Nod. "How's that going?"

"Not great. Maybe Elrond's conference will be constructive."

"Who's Elrond?"

" - the children that Maedhros and Maglor took hostage near the end of the war? Elrond and his brother."

"What's the nature of the conference?"

"Figure out what can be done. The Maiar are attending, and Dwarves and Men."

"Well doesn't that sound like exactly the sort of thing I may have been conveniently timed for."

" - I'm not accustomed to thinking of events as being so meticulously plotted. But. Yes, yes it does."

"It's less uncomfortable in retrospect, which was the only way I've ever had to do it before, but I figure I'd best adjust."