"A single person isn't likely to literally slow me down much, but carrying someone around and then just ignoring them when it doesn't happen to be convenient for me that they're there--I'm not sure I could do that. Carrying someone isn't likely to slow me down when I'm traveling, but having someone there and incapable of leaving or for that matter refraining from falling to their deaths under their own power is likely to distract me. Not so much an issue when I'm doing things that involve staying in one place and being near the ground for a while, but."

"All right. In that case it sounds most sensible for you to travel alone."

"I guess having someone with me just when I'm formally visiting places wouldn't be too much precedent, except people might wonder why I haven't been bothering with it so far while I was basically camped out with you and Celegorm."

"How would they know? It would probably raise eyebrows that you spent most of your time with us, independent of whether you had company, but no one here reports to any of my relatives."

"I guess. If anyone asks why I'm around here so much I plan to answer that it's because it's convenient for military purposes, unless there's some problem with that I'm not seeing."

"That should work. Keeping an eye on us is also considered legitimate reason to be over here. And some people come for the climate."

"I like being useful but it kind of pisses me off that it makes it anyone's business but mine who my friends are."

"The real question people are feeling for, when they ask whether you like us, is 'if someone else had a Silmaril what would you do'. It's the outcome the whole continent lives in terror of. I think Morgoth is too attached to them to try it."

"...Okay. That's fair. Um, I'd probably ask nicely and offer magical favors and steal it if that didn't work, but I'd do that whether or not I liked you because as far as I can tell the alternative is someone dying."

"Don't answer the question unprompted, but if it comes up I think that's an answer that wouldn't cause distress. Someone will inevitably point out to you that this means people can get you to steal things for them by swearing to kill others unless the things are acquired."

"If someone swears to kill people if they don't acquire things in order to make me steal them then I will, instead, prevent them from killing people. I don't like being manipulated like that, and anyway unless I have been lied to the Silmarils are, in fact, yours, and anyone who gets one and refuses to give it back is withholding stolen property, which does not deserve a death sentence but also does not confer property rights."

He smiles. "I really think you're going to do fine."

"Thanks. I certainly hope so."

"Are there other things you wanted to know? I hesitate to coach you too much because my relatives know me and know what me acting through you would look like, and that's not what we want and not an appearance we want to create."

"I would never have thought of bringing an attendant if you hadn't suggested it and, on balance, still emotionally don't prefer it despite the possible usefulness, so if I do that it will pretty much be a you-coaching-me thing. Um, I still don't actually know that much about Brithombar?"

"Under Ulmo's protection, on the continent's southern shore. Made up of people who've never been to Valinor. They would fall last, if the continent did, but I expect their main objection to an offensive is that they're not equipped or trained for it."

"Equipment I can almost certainly do. Training less so."

"If it doesn't make sense for them to join an offensive, then we're not trying to get them to take action that doesn't make sense."

"Yeah."

"So talk with them, figure out what they need and what is right for them."

"Pretty much what I've been doing here, then. That sounds easy enough."

"Círdan is a good man and a capable ruler. I do not expect you'd offend him."

"I'm glad to hear it."

"It's probably a good place to start."

"Okay. It would probably be a decent idea to establish myself as helpful and highly magical and sometimes present before bringing up the whole union of free people thing, especially since at this point I'm not sure I understand it well enough to present it as something other than 'Maedhros and Fingon had this idea,' which seems rather counter to the point of the project."