...That does sound like her work.

...Yeah. It's familiar. 

It's the best lead they've found so far.

Off towards the mountains, then? (Which the locals call the Black Mountains, contrasting the White Mountains to the west.)

They shall see what terrors await.

The terrors start with thin, unreal air. The sun looks distant, the sky washed out and grey. A fell mist clings to the slopes, and as they ascend they notice the many small streams are either heavy with soot or clear but bitter-tasting. Plants are withering, drying out despite the damp fog, and the leaves of trees deeper in the pass they're directed towards are white as bone. 

They don't see any monsters, not yet. But neither do they see nor hear birds - except some ravens who follow them a short distance and begin to caw harshly. 

"The land is as blighted as her spirit."

" - I'm not fully fluent in their tongue, but those ravens are calling warnings. We likely won't find any food or potable water soon..."

"Do you think we should turn back to restock?"

"We have some supplies, but - it's up to you. I don't know how long we'll be searching."

"I'm of a mind to press on. See how far we get."

She nods. "We can go a while without eating or drinking if we need to, anyways."

"Though I'd rather it not come to that."

"We can move quickly to scout."

"Then let us begin."

Onwards then - though they'll have to sacrifice the potential for stealth if they want speed...

So be it.

They're able to make good time. The ravens abandon them quickly, apparently giving them up as a lost cause. The lack of vegetation makes it easier to move quickly, and the ground is hard, making for sure footing. Daylight, it seems, is still relatively safe. 

Which means they crest a rise and are looking out on a dark, forbiding plain before long. The sky is thick with smoke, pouring from an enormous volcano barely visible on the horizon. There's a single artificial structure on the entire plain as far as either elf can tell - a black tower that soars above the plains, a fire to match the volcano at its crown. 

"That will be her lair," Celebrimbor says. "And she'll have harnessed the volcano for power, like as not."

"Where do you think we should look first?"

"Neither will be easy to get into. The volcano, perhaps, if she's made it her workshop."

"We might be able to cut her off from it if she isn't present, too."

"Smash whatever she was working on."

"Take what she values from her first thing."

"Exactly."