The Road Goes Ever On...

As described by both Turbine and Tolkien, Lothlorien is a resting place. The Fellowship will stay there for a short while, and then continue East. Obviously the game has to follow their path, and so we are left to question where that path leads to next. I'm not alone in having done almost everything I wanted to do in Lorien. I'm Kindred with the Elves there, I've done the Battle of Lorien a few times, but the home of the Galadhrim was never meant to be a place of excitement and action like Moria was. It's a shame that an area that took so much time and effort isn't able to offer a longer period of satisfaction, but I have a hard time thinking of how Turbine could have put any more things into it then they already have. It's time to start thinking about where we're going next.

Turbine has (for the most part) kept up with their schedule of one free update per month in the past, which means theoretically there should be a new one coming soon. There are three obvious options for the path forward. The first is to head south, into Fagorn Forest. Secondly, heading southeast along Anduin, following the Fellowship partway down the river and possibly encompassing the Brown Lands and the Wold. Maybe if they take a little more time (the people on the forums'll love that one) they'll get all the way to Amon Hen? Doubtful, but possible. Finally, they might shoot for Mirkwood. For some reason, although many people have been saying this is where they'll probably head next, I sort of doubt it. Due East from Lorien is Mirkwood, but also Dol Guldur. I dunno but that seems like too big a fish to fry straight out of Moria. I mean one of the major storylines has been about stopping the Witch-King's advance on the North. It just seems to me to be too much too soon.

Anther consideration is the Fellowship's position. Like it or not we are drawing close to the breaking of the Fellowship, so they'll have to start making their way down the river soon. If we go down Anduin, the Fellowship will almost certainly be moved from Lorien to a camp or something along the river (that fits with the lore as well, so everyone wins). When I think about Fangorn, I'm inclined to think that they'll also extend the river a little bit, and move the Fellowship wherever they decide to stop. The only scenario I can come up with where they Fellowship stays put is Mirkwood. Mirkwood plays no part in the Lord of the Rings (the main story anyway), so there's no reason to move them yet. However, Dol Guldur's right there, I can't see it happening. When I started typing this paragraph I thought the Fellowship's being moved/staying put would help in deciding what's going to be released next. Not so much.

Ah, I've left someone feeling very sad and alone. The Gladden Fields! Where the One Ring was found, where Isildur was killed, the whole bit. However I don't see them expanding North to here now, there's not enough stuff up there.

So, final thoughts? I think Mirkwood's out because of the whole Dol Guldur thing, and Fangorn not so much for another reason. All in all, I predict we'll be taking a boat ride down the Great River soon. It has the most potential for quests and lore, plus it still leaves something else open which I'll touch on in another post (soon, I'm really bored).