Uncandled Eggs: A Painting in Nud-Heden

Mystery Painting of Nud-Heden

I recently spent a relaxing afternoon mining ore through several regions.  My 85 Lore Master, Anamikari, has been called upon several times lately to provide ore for the second Jeweler and Metalsmith crafters I have been leveling (I know, SECOND?!?).  I find it an enjoyable change of pace, particularly when I'm riding through areas where I won't aggro the landscape mobs and can just soak in the scenery.  On this afternoon I mined around Rohan, heading up toward the Great River area and then into Lothlorien for a while before entering the East Gate of Moria in the Dimrill Dale.  I passed through Nud Melek and into the Redhorn Lodes, the sweetest spot for mining all four types of Khazad ores.  I noticed things looked a bit different toward the southern end since the Moria revamp, where you can head to the Flaming Deeps.  I noticed that you are essentially now in the Chittering Hole, whereas it used to be more off to the side.

I went to explore the little building there called Nud-Heden.  I know I've quested there before, but couldn't remember what was inside other than more gredbyg.  I believe it used to be one of many libraries found in Moria, according to the quest dialogue found on LOTRO Wiki.  I would have guessed it was more like an inn/waystation or tavern, as there's a long bar, tables, and barrels.  Maybe that was just the Dwarf version of an in-house library coffeeshop?

Gate to Moria

Interestingly, in the rear room (was there supposed to be a Grodbog Queen here once?) I noticed several paintings on the walls.  I spotted the good old Above Weathertop painting, as well as the Shore Glimpse, I believe.  Then I saw a painting I'm certain I have never seen elsewhere in the game.  At least, I have no memory of this painting. (Little joke there.)

Unfortunately it is out of focus so I can't detect all of the detail.  Clearly it is a Dwarf, pointing toward something in the background.  There appear to be barricades, and off to the rear right we see some trees and mountains.  I can't for the life of me figure out what this is supposed to represent.  Is that fire in there somewhere?  Are those trees stripped/burned down?  Are there other figures in there?  Nar pointing at Thror's head being tossed out of Moria?  Dáin spotting Azog and saying, "Hey, let's go chop off HIS head!"?  It's driving me crazy trying to figure this one out.  If anyone has seen this elsewhere, or knows what this is, I would love to hear!

Path to Moria

I know Lootboxes can drop two fairly rare paintings: the Path to Moria and the Gate to Moria (thanks to LOTRO Wiki for the photos).  I have not been lucky enough to get either of these yet, and was hoping that I'd find information on this particular painting in the Lorebook, but no such luck.

Ah well, there's always Playful Children to fill my empty wall space for now.  But I hope to solve the mystery of this painting soon!

Cracked Eggs: A Retired Swedish Dwarf Cuisinier?

Read here for more information on the Cracked Eggs series!

For this Cracked Egg I have to give complete credit to Maliki, dps Mini, scourge of the Ettenmoors, and Council of Eriador leader extraordinaire.  Mal has been playing LOTRO since the end of closed beta - almost 5 years exactly!  Despite a strong aversion to Hobbits, the man knows this game very well.

When I invited kin members to send me ideas to include in my blog, Maliki told me to check out the chef, Bork, in the Free People's Camp at Fornost.  Get it?  Chef?  Bork?  Bork Bork Bork? 

I rode to the camp.  I saw Bork.  He was a Healer and Provisioner.  He didn't try to cook me a single thing.  I thought, "hmmmm...."

I asked Maliki if he was sure about this little Easter egg.  He assured me he was, and that way back when, the NPC Bork was a cook, and that it was his favorite Easter egg in the game.  I arched my eyebrow dubiously (he couldn't see me, after all) and then turned to Google.

And then found an entry on Allakazam that referenced Bork as a "Novice Cook." ORLY?

Mal kindly refrained from saying, "I told you so," and said at some point the designation of the NPC had been changed, he just didn't remember when or ever knew why.

After digging some more, I found the Release Notes that mentioned precisely that:


"Bork zee Cuuk" ves nefer a cuuk und zeereffure-a, hees ooccoopeshunel teetle-a hes chunged tu "Heeler & Prufeesiuner. Hurty flurty schnipp schnipp!" (Translated from Swedish Chef: "Bork the Cook" was never a cook and therefore, his occupational title has changed to "Healer & Provisioner.") 

I would never have known about this Easter egg, and am betting many of my readers would not also, if not for the impressive memory of my kin leader.  Thank you Maliki!

 But Turbine - why unBork the Bork?!?  This should also fall into the Uncandled Eggs category - another mystery!

McFarlane scolds Bork for changing careers.

Uncandled Eggs - Mystery Wagon in the Lone Lands

When questing in the Lone Lands near Ost Guruth, you will eventually be sent to clear out some orcs and wargs who have settled in to the ruins of Ost Cyrn, south of Ost Guruth.  Just between the road and Ost Cyrn, you'll find a capsized wagon.  Prior quests out of Iorvinas and Ost Guruth warn us that goblin attacks have been on the rise in the Lone Lands, so this wagon appears to have been one of countless casualties.

However, the appearance of this wagon grabbed my attention.  It looks a little familiar, doesn't it?  And if you move around to look at the back, you find a very round door - much like the wagons you see in Waymeet.

Is it possible a wagon of Hobbits could have been traveling through these lands far from The Shire and Bree-land?  Not inconceivable - trade happened, even in those days of danger.  I'm still very curious about this wagon.  To the best of my knowledge, none of the quests in this area mention it specifically.  If it is just meant to be a wreck by the side of the road, why not a cart?  Why something that matches the Hobbit wagon homes in Waymeet?

At the very least, it piques the imagination.  Anyone have an explanation?

Uncandled Eggs - Ost Barandor

Read more about the Uncandled Eggs series here.

This post is dedicated to my first mystery - Ost Barandor.  I cannot connect this to any Tolkien lore.  Maybe I just have not looked in the correct places.  But it certainly seems like it SHOULD be straight from the lore somewhere!

Ost Barandor is a ruined fortress in the far northwest corner of Bree-land.  High above the rolling Brandy Hills, it isn't far from the spot where you find the giant Svalfang.  Don't confuse it with Ost Baranor, another ruins in the Chetwood near the Yellow Tree.

It is far from most quest lines and seldom visited except by node farmers and those curious enough to wonder about the high ruins they often see in the distance.  Nearby is Starmere Lake, another seemingly "actionless" area that is quite beautiful and tranquil.

The view from Ost Barandor stretches for miles around.  My favorite, as shown in the accompanying illustration, looks to the southeast.  To the right of the photo you can see the edge of the Old Forest, and the land slowly climbing up to the high hills surrounding the Barrow Downs.  You can also spot the farm overrun by brigands to the north of Adso's Camp.  A view of the northeast would look out over Starmere Lake toward the northern Bree-fields.  To the west of Ost Barandor, the view of the Brandywine Bridge is unfortunately obscured by hills and trees, but you can see stretches of the brown Brandywine River and The Shire on the other side.

Berephon of Turbine confirms that Ost Barandor translates as "Fortress of the Brown Land."  Baranduin is of course Sindarin for "golden-brown river," and the brown-toned water is most definitely rendered so in LOTRO.  The Hobbits had a bit of fun with the name at several points, calling it Branda-nîn, the "border water" in their Westron terms, and later Bralda-hîm, the "heady ale."

I can't help but wonder when this fortress was built, and by whom.  This region was once part of the Kingdom of Arnor long ago.  When Arnor was broken into smaller kingdoms, I believe this place would have been on the borderline of Arthedain and Cardolan.

In 1636, the Great Plague killed the King in Gondor and spread north and west, devastating much of the population.  The kingdom of Cardolan was particularly decimated with very few surviving.  One can't help but wonder if Ost Barandor was struck by that plague, leaving it deserted to fall into ruins.  Possibly the barrows of some of its inhabitants can be found inside those Downs to the southeast.

I'm more than happy to be proved wrong.  If anyone can provide references for Ost Barandor appearing anywhere in Tolkien lore, by all means please post here!  At any rate, if you have never bothered to explore this very quiet corner of Bree-land, the view is not to be missed.

Sources:  The Lord of the Rings, Appendix F

Uncandled Eggs

For those of you who aren't fortunate enough to come from a rural area (I come from The Shire of the U.S., and beautiful it is!) you may not know what it means to "candle" an egg.  In simplest terms, it means to shine a bright light behind an egg so you could get some idea of the contents.  Of course the first candling lights were...candles.

From time to time I'll create posts that are "Uncandled Eggs" - these are places or happenings inside LOTRO's Middle Earth that make me think there must be some manner of lore link, but for the life of me I haven't been able to figure out what.  Could be nothing and just my imagination  Could be I haven't been researching in the right places.  But if anyone can add information to what I bring up in these posts, I'd very much welcome it!  Let's see if we can shine enough light in there to see what's what.

Watch for the first Uncandled Eggs posts in the very near future.