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Beorn has provided well for you and sent you on the next leg of your journey through the forest of Mirkwood, though not without warnings. He warns you of a dark and black stream running through Mirkwood, whose enchanted waters will cause you to fall into a very deep sleep and have no recollection of recent events upon wakening days later. "STAY ON THE PATH!" he also warns you, and Gandalf echoes the same dire warning just before leaving you at the edge of Mirkwood to attend to his "important business" elsewhere (his usual poker game with Barlamain Butterbur at the Prancing Pony most likely).
As you pass through Mirkwood on your way to the cache that Gandalf left for you along the way, do not stray from the path in search of other caches, for those who leave the path are unlikely to ever find it again, no matter how close you think it might be.
It was probably for the best that Gandalf neglected to mention the inhabitants of Mirkwood forest, for if he had, you may not have continued on your quest. For in the depths of the forest live the descendants of Ungoliant and Shelob, the great 8-legged beasts that have plagued Middle Earth since the time of Morgoth, Sauron's master. If you stray from the path, you will likely have to do battle with these large spiders of the underworld.
You travel for many days in the forest, and eventually you reach the black stream that you were warned about. Despite the warnings, you decide that finding this cache is worth the risk, and you will have to leave the trail to get stage 1. Don't fall in the black stream while trying to get the coordinates for the final stage, or in addition to being wet and muddy, you will fall into a deep sleep for many days and have to be carried out by your caching buddy, who may just decide to leave you behind as spider food. After finding stage 1, make your way back to the trail to continue your journey. That is, if you can find it again...
After many more days of travel, you approach the coordinates for the final cache that Gandalf left. You will see a small tree very near the trail with a smaller tree next to it and several large vines. Check the large vine about eye level to a hobbit (chest or neck level for the rest of us) for a metallic keyring attached to a string. Pull gently on the keyring to retrieve the cache.
NO PEEKING! Do not cheat by checking the other end of the string first. Just pull the string like a good little hobbit...
Be sure to replace the cache EXACTLY as it was found. Make sure the cache sits on the rocky platform so that it will not sit in water and please replace any camo.