Posted: March 20, 2000 at 15:42:47: by Dave
: : Given the restrictions on who could use the Palantiri, the Dunedain may have decided that it was not a problem anyway, and that the future might provide a better opportunity to recover the palantir, which would be virtually useless in the hands of the the unauthorized.: Maybe so, but I still think that given Gondors military ability ( it conquered most of the north of middle earth) it shouldn't have been beyond them to retake Minas Ithil. They saw off the Nazgul at the Pellenor fields, when Sauron was at his height of power for the T.A, and with less forces at their disposal. OK lets delve into a scenario here
1) Location - unapproachable other than up the pass leading to it(its tucked nicely in the mountains) so, the Nazgul begin the siege by pouring in troops from Mordor (on which Gondor's watch
has lapsed and it was being repopulated with evil creatures and men) and investing the city. they pour troops down the cirith pass and block off the Ithilien end. This is a mountain pass and a few hundred well placed troops or less could hold against many times their number. Minas Ithil is now encircled and under siege. 2) The Morannon has already fallen to Sauron, and therefore no force is able to relieve the city without risking a massacre. 3) There were probably expeditionary sorties against the siegers which caused loss of Gondorian life, so they looked for another way of doing it.. 4) A few well placed attacks by Corsairs, Haradrim, Easterlings against the outskirts of Gondor keeps the military busy. 5) Through Treachery or otherwise, mostly starvation, the city falls, the evil ones pour in and immediately fortify both ends of the pass against Gondorian expeditions. Game Over! Does this sound feasible?????
Dave
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