It is the year 2946 of the Third Age, and the lands east of the Misty Mountains are astir. From the cloud-shrouded peaks above the High Pass to the spider-infested gloom of Mirkwood, paths long-deserted are trodden once more. Some say that a new age of freedom has begun, a time for adventure and great deeds to reclaim glories lost in long centuries of oppression and decline. As the Shadow creeps back across the lands of the Free Peoples, you, a hero of Middle-earth, will uncover hints of what is happening and have the chance to play a part in the struggle against the Enemy.