“There’s a big band about four miles away… there must be close on a hundred of them; and they’re fire-raising as they come.” —Merry, The Return of the King

Cannot be chosen as the active quest. X is 1 plus 1.

Response: At the beginning of the staging step, place any number of progress here and reveal an equal number of encounter cards.

Forced: When this quest is defeated, flip this card over and reveal it.