Location: New Lorien zones, east of the Anduin, north of Rikurr's shelter.
Quest: Some northwest of Rikurr's shelter is a chasm with a tentacled beast in it. This beast guards a skeleton in which an elven letter loads. If you read the letter, it says something about a key that is broken, and some treasure.
This key, a dented metal leaf, loads in a skeleton guarded by a rattlesnake a short ways northwest of the chasm with the tentacled beast. Look for a room named “Dense Brush.”
(Snoringfoot: This is easy to find, just go up from the room where the beast is killed, then go N W S then W a few times, and you'll be there. Open rockpile, then kill all of the snakes in the room below. After this, open collapse, which is E from beneath the rockpile, then kill the rattlesnake. This is the only one that needs to be killed to get access to the skeleton. The exit W closes sometimes automatically, so just open rubble when this happens to keep the entrance open in case you need to get in and out repeatedly.)
South of this area is a waterfall; you can swim east under the waterfall into a hidden underground lake. Here, you will find a wall with a depression for a leaf. If you try to put the dented leaf into the depression, however, you will see:
You try to push the leaf into the carved tree, but it does not fit and falls out of the depression.
Tarim the Hermit, in the forest maze near here, gives some hints about what to do with the leaf:
Someone says 'A piece of scrap metal? No, no, seems like an old item of art, am I correct?'
You have revealed Tarim the Hermit!
Tarim the Hermit points at your leaf of metal.
!f c HP:Fine Mana:Warm>give leaf tarim
Ok.
Tarim the Hermit glances at the leaf.
Tarim the Hermit leaves his hiding place.
Tarim the Hermit gives you a dented, dull leaf of metal.
Tarim the Hermit says 'Well, that looks interesting. It is of elven make, am I correct?'
Tarim the Hermit says 'But it seems somewhat damaged, yes, it is dented and pale.'
Tarim the Hermit thinks for a while.
Tarim the Hermit says 'I do not know. Maybe the elves can tell you more. Some of them live in the enchanted forests to the'
Tarim the Hermit says 'west, on the other side of the Anduin.'
Tarim the Hermit says 'But beware, they may not be so friendly as to let you in.'
Tarim the Hermit turns west, yet it is only a few yards until his gaze is blocked by thick bushes.
Tarim the Hermit says 'I myself go there from time to time to take a look at the magnificent golden trees. But I do not'
Tarim the Hermit says 'dare to go near them.'
Tarim the Hermit shrugs and turns away.
Tarim the Hermit says 'On the other hand, it may just be an old piece of scrap metal.'
(Snoringfoot: To easily find the waterfall, just circle around the elven tower SW of the zone. There will be a room named Dense Thicket or something like (There are some roots in the room directly W from this, then go N untill you find the waterfall.), )
Take the letter and the leaf to Ecthelion, the smith in Lorien. Give the leaf to him, he will examine it, then ask for anything that might give a clue about what it is. Give him the letter, and he will repair the leaf. (It would seem you only need to do this once, after that Ecthelion remembers that you have given him the letter and you can get by with just giving him the leaf).
Now the leaf will fit. Back at the underground lake past the waterfall, as mentioned previously, “put leaf depression” and the wall to the south will open, giving you access to a room with a chest. In this chest loads a small elven bag.
(Snoringfoot: The room directly E from the waterfall entrance is not the one you want, you must still go E once again to be in the right room to enter the leaf.)
Note: When you leave this room the wall closes, and you cannot open it except by doing the entire quest over. So make sure you loot the chest before you leave.
Caution: As of this writing, it is possible to enter the area under the waterfall with a boat and no swim practiced. However, it is impossible to leave that area without swim practiced, as you need swim, not a boat, to enter an underwater room. This has been reported and should be fixed soon, hopefully.
(Snoringfoot: I don't believe that this is a bug. Just take a boat to be on the safe side when you go E from the waterfall, then go E again. Both of these rooms are above water, so a boat will work fine for each, as with a lake or any other body of water. Taking a boat will save moves at this point. When you leave, make sure your moves are full, then go W. The first room over will still be usable by the boat. Make sure that swim is on, then keep going W for two rooms. By this time you will be stuck underwater, with no way back the way you came in, and with no boat. So from here, spam S W S W until you are out side again, then go W or E to get out of the river before running out of moves.)
(Millie: Do not bring charmies into the waterfall! You will not be able to get them back out again! Tried giving them boats, but as the exit is underwater they cannot follow you.)
Reward: A small elven bag (decays) - this is a bag of endless water and lembas wafers and (decaying) ropes and fishing rods and hunting knives. (You can examine to bag to know what's possible to get out of it)