From Darkness into Light

Legolas had chosen to locate his settlement along the banks of one of the many small streams that were tributaries of the mighty Anduin. So far, only a few of the Elf’s friends had arrived from Eryn Lasgalen to help with establishing the new colony and Gimli had only visited on one other occasion. It was easily accessible by boat, and unfortunately for the Dwarf who was not at all fond of water travel, that had become his friend’s favoured mode of transport.

“Is there no other way to reach this haven of yours?” he enquired after almost capsizing the boat as Legolas attempted to moor the craft.  

“There is a pathway through the forest, and as pleasurable as I find it to walk through the trees to reach my village, I find I am more drawn to the open expanse of the river. I think it is because it reminds me of the Forest River of my home,” replied Legolas with a far away look in his eyes.  

 ‘ And likely as not makes you feel closer to the sea ,’ thought Gimli. He was well aware that Lady Galadriel’s words had been spoken truly, for Legolas had become enamoured of the sea and longed to answer its call.  

“Well I prefer to feel the firmness of Arda beneath my feet,” declared Gimli in a tone of voice he hoped sounded more disgruntled that distressed, and stomping the ground to emphasise his point.  

“Ai, but friend Gimli you are always complaining that you cannot tell one tree from the next. The pathway is as yet untravelled, and hard to follow. If I am not with you, how will you find your way to visit me?” asked Legolas. Gimli merely shrugged and thought no more on the subject until the next time he journeyed to Ithilien.  

As they had prearranged, Gimli met Legolas in Osgiliath from where they would travel to the Elven village.   As they crossed the impressive stone bridge that joined the two halves of the city, Gimli could sense a certain air of expectation surrounding his friend.  

“You seem very pleased with yourself, Legolas. Is there a reason for your cheerful mood?” he asked as they walked.  

“Aside from being visited by my dearest friend, an occasion I always find to be joyous, I believe I have a solution to your problem,” said Legolas, his eyes bright with excitement.

“It is my pleasure to come to Ithilien to see what you and the other crazy Elves are doing,” said Gimli, as always using a light hearted jest to shadow his deep feelings of affection for one Elf in particular. “However, if you are referring to this outstanding structure, made of very old and sturdy stone as a solution, then I am in full agreement. It is the only way to cross the river!” exclaimed the Dwarf.  

“As you will need to do, to reach the trail I have marked for you to follow through the forest,” said Legolas, laughing merrily at the confused look on Gimli’s face. “Come, I will show you.”  

They made their way quickly to the outskirts of the city, and were soon amongst the trees that were at first scattered thinly at the edge of the forest, becoming much denser as they moved further south.  

“Do you see it?” asked Legolas as he stopped near a rocky outcrop, not offering any clue as to what it was the Dwarf was supposed to be looking at. After several moments of searching, and muttering gruffly under his breath, Gimli finally pointed to a marking carved into one of the rocks.  

“Aha! This is what you wish me to find!” he exclaimed as he bent to examine it more closely. What he saw was a carving of an axe very much resembling his favourite fighting weapon, across which lay an elvish arrow, with the arrowhead pointing into the forest. He followed the direction the sign indicated, and further along found another, also carved into a large boulder.  

"You can follow them all the way to my village. Do you approve of my solution to your dislike of boating?” asked Legolas as he placed a friendly hand on Gimli’s shoulder.  

“Most assuredly, but I do have one very slight complaint,” Gimli said looking up at his friend with a wicked gleam in his eyes.  

“What is it?” asked Legolas who would have been surprised had Gimli not found something wrong.  

“The quality of the stone carving is rather poor. It would be of benefit if the student stonemason visited the masters of the craft, such as dwell in Aglarond, a little more often,” suggested Gimli, raising an eyebrow. He had rightly assumed it was Legolas who had done the work and he could not resist the opportunity to tease the Elf about his dislike for the deep caverns. Legolas sighed, he had often complimented Gimli on the beauty of the caverns, and had visited them once, but sometimes there was just no pleasing the Dwarf.

                                                        *******  

The markers had proven to be a success, for Gimli had easily found his way to the village on several occasions since. On this particular day he was attempting to find his way without looking for signs, and had managed to reach the small pool that he estimated to be the mid point of his journey. He stopped to kneel beside the clear, still waters and slake his thirst, and noticed that the rock on which the next sign was carved was nowhere to be seen. Frowning slightly he stood and walked around the edge of the pool, searching the ground intently for the marker rock.  

“Ah, there you are,” he said as he noticed it buried in the soft grass a short distance from where it usually lay. He had no idea how it came to be moved, but it appeared to have been ground into the dirt by someone who left a large boot print. As he bent down to retrieve it, intending to return the marker to its rightful place, he noticed that the carving looked slightly unusual. In fact if he had not known better, he would have thought that someone with much greater skill than Legolas. Had produced it. His brow creased in puzzlement, and before he knew what was happening he felt a hard blow to the base of his skull, and then—nothing.

Gimli slowly regained consciousness. The throbbing pain at the back of his head increased sharply as he tried to open his eyes, which he finally managed to do, but it was to no avail. He was in total darkness. Through the cloudy mist of a mind still confused by pain, he sensed that he was not blind, but blindfolded.   He tried to lift his arms to remove the offending item from about his brow and cursed softly. Not only were his eyes incapacitated, but apparently he was also bound hand and foot.  

Whoever had been responsible for this affront on his person had done their job well, for try as he might, even his Dwarfish strength could not break the leather straps that had been used to bind him. Gimli was furious at his captors for being treated so, and angry with himself for being caught off guard. He could hear the sounds of someone moving about in the distance and since he had no wish to attract the attention of his captors he decided to remain still and feign unconsciousness until he had fully recovered his senses and could determine exactly how much danger he was in.  

Although he could not see, he could feel the closeness of the darkness that enveloped him and he realised that he was in a cave, possibly some way underground. He could feel the coldness of the rocky wall at his back, and the smell of the dank, moist air merely confirmed his suspicion. The draught he could feel told him that there was a passageway to the surface and he estimated that he was several hundred yards away from the outside entrance.  

“I wonder how I ended up in this predicament?” he thought. . He closed his eyes again to relieve the ache in his head, and tried to remember. The last thing he recalled was bending down to find one of the markers Legolas had placed on a rock along the path that lead from Osgiliath to the Elven village in Ithilien.  

The thought of the Elf brought a small measure of comfort, for Gimli was certain that Legolas would soon be searching for him. His relief was short lived, however when the voices of two men drifted into his corner of the cave.  

“Putting one of our markers in a different spot certainly made capturing the Dwarf an easy task, but how do we know the Elf will look for him?” asked the first man.  

“Because it is common knowledge that they are great friends, and if we send the Elf a ransom note, he will surely seek to rescue his comrade,” replied the other harshly, sounding somewhat exasperated with his companion.  

Gimli surmised that he was the leader and wondered how many others were part of this plot. In fact he wondered what the men wanted with Legolas in the first place. Surely they realised that the Elf was a respected warrior and a close friend of their King. Thinking made his headache worse, so he simply contented himself with listening to the conversation.  

“Aye, that does seem likely,” agreed the first man, the younger of the two according to Gimli’s reckoning.   “We have not been able to find any trace of him in these woods on our own after all— ‘tis better that we make him come to us!”  

“Exactly! And then the son of that evil King Thranduil will pay for what his father did to my family! Once he enters this cave, it will be the last thing that Elf does!” the leader sneered, the malice in his voice sending Gimli’s blood cold. Fearing for his friend, he prayed that Legolas would be far too reluctant to search an underground cave.  

“Did he really murder them?” asked the young man with more than a hint of doubt in his voice. “I heard that they were taken by those ugly big spiders that lived in Mirkwood before the War.”  

“Do you dare accuse me of lying? Did I not take you in and treat you like a son after your parents were killed by Orcs?” the leader asked, angrily tossing another piece of wood on the small fire that had been lit near the entrance to the cave.  

“Yes you did, and you know I am grateful. It is just that I do not believe you can blame anyone for what those creatures did. It is said they also took any Elf fool enough to wander alone near their lairs.” Gimli decided that at least this man had a conscience, and was just suffering from misplaced loyalty.  

“Tavern talk!” scoffed the leader. “Mirkwood was his realm, and a King is responsible for anything that happens within it, just as King Elessar is responsible for Gondor! I hope you do not intend to try and stop me?” he asked glaring threateningly at the younger man.  

“No, I will do as you ask, but I do not like this plan,” he admitted.  

“Then the sooner I deliver the message, the sooner the job will be done. You are to guard the prisoner while I am in Minas Tirith hiring someone to take a message to the Elf. See to it that the Dwarf does not escape!”   He ordered. Gimli heard the voice becoming louder and realised that the men were now approaching him. He felt his shoulder being shaken, but made no response.  

“He will give you no trouble; he will likely be unconscious for some time yet,” the leader said confidently.  

 Gimli could barely contain his rage at such an arrogant presumption. Obviously this man had not heard of the legendary stamina of the Dwarves. Wisely he did nothing, and soon heard the sounds of a horse galloping into the distance. After unsuccessfully trying to break free from his bonds once more, Gimli decided to try and sleep, for once Legolas arrived he wanted to be at his full strength. The villains intended to ambush his friend, and Gimli had no intention of letting them succeed.

                                                ******  

Gimli finally managed to doze off and was almost fully asleep when he heard a loud ‘thud’ from the direction he believed his guard was located. In an instant he was once again wide-awake, and relieved to realise that his headache had become barely more than a dull ache around what he was certain was a large lump on the back of his head.

“Keep still, Gimli, I am cutting your bonds,” whispered a well-known voice in his ear. As soon as his hands were free, Gimli removed the blindfold, and smiled with great affection at Legolas. “Are you well enough to travel?” asked Legolas with concern.

“Yes, and we must move quickly. It is good to see you, my friend, and I am curious to know how you came to find me, but the other man wishes you great harm. You cannot linger here,” warned Gimli as he gingerly rose to his feet and, finding his legs numb from prolonged sitting in a cramped position allowed the elf to help him walk. Legolas stopped to take a burning branch from the fire to use as a torch and as they passed the still form of the guard, Gimli looked the question at his friend.  

“He is merely unconscious, friend Gimli,” answered Legolas, indicating a small rock by the man’s side.  

“That is one of your markers!” declared Gimli in astonishment as he noticed the axe and arrow carving on the rock.  

“No, it is a copy. Can you not see that the carving is of a standard beyond my limited skill?” asked Legolas lightly, causing Gimli to guffaw loudly at such an admission.  

The cavern was indeed far underground, but Gimli rapidly recovered the use of his legs and the two friends were soon out in the bright sunlight. The Dwarf noted with a secret smile that Legolas breathed an audible sigh of relief. Gimli made no comment for talking would only delay their escape, and he was eager to be as far away as possible when the other returned.

However, it seemed that Legolas had a different idea, for rather than leave the area as quickly as possible, the Elf lead Gimli to a hiding place in a large hollow trunk not far from the cave.  

“What are you doing, Legolas? Surely you do not intend to confront these rogues on your own?” he asked, suddenly understanding that Legolas intended to do just that.  

“But I am not on my own,” he stated calmly, inclining his head in the direction of the treetops where several fully armed Elves waited patiently. “I intend the men no harm, what I intend is to capture them and hand them over to the King’s guard. Aragorn will pass judgement on them,” explained Legolas.  

“Oh, I see! Perhaps while we are waiting for the leader to return you would care to explain how you knew to find me here?” asked Gimli as he settled against the tree trunk, still feeling a little unwell from his concussion.  

“My friends and I were hunting in this area, and we heard a whisper amongst the trees that the ‘elf-friend’ was in danger. When I could not find you on the path, and saw that the marker was out of place and not of my making, I simply followed the trail made by your attackers. I arrived here just as the other rode away, and took the opportunity to rescue you,” explained Legolas.  

“For which I thank you. How fortuitous you were nearby,” said Gimli. “Did you overhear the grievance that man has against you?”  

“Ai that is why I am merely going to capture him. He has suffered enough with the loss of his family; I would do him no further harm. As he said, Aragorn is responsible for those in his kingdom and so we should leave it to him to see that the man and his comrades pay sufficiently for what they have done to you, unless you would prefer to decide his fate?” he asked.

“As you say, he has suffered enough, and aside from injured pride at being caught so easily, and a large headache, no other harm has come to me. They did not intend to injure me. It was you they wanted,” said Gimli.  

“And you were certainly the perfect bait!” laughed Legolas, clapping his friend affectionately on the shoulder.  

“Ah, but little did they know that their plan was flawed,” said Gimli with mischief in his voice.  

“How so?” asked Legolas looking warily at his friend.  

“Of all the places to try and ambush you, they chose the one place you were least likely to enter. They must be the only people in Gondor who have not heard of your dislike for the darkness of underground caverns!”