I: They’ll Be Comin’ Round the Orod When They Come

"’Ro and I would like to visit Daeradar and Daernaneth."

That was Elladan, standing with his twin before Elrond’s desk in the library. They were both looking nervous.

"We want to surprise them," his twin added.

Elrond raised one eyebrow, but otherwise kept his expression impassive, resisting the urge to laugh. Celebrían had warned him two nights before that the twins were planning something.

"How do you know?" he had asked as he helped her to brush her silken hair. The act of brushing his wife’s hair was often a prelude to lovemaking and both of them were close to arousal. They had been alone since after the nightmeal; electing not to join the others of Imladris in the Hall of Fire. It was now well after midnight.

Celebrían had sighed, her eyes half closed. "A naneth knows these things."

"What do you know?" Elrond had asked suggestively, leaning down to lick the tip of her right ear.

But that had been the wrong thing to do, for Celebrían had given a long moan of pleasure and then had grabbed the brush out of Elrond’s hand, flinging it across the room before dragging her husband to the floor. It was nearly dawn before either one was capable of resuming their conversation.

"I don’t know what they are planning," Celebrían had said when Elrond had repeated his question. Sometime during their lovemaking they had made their way to the bed, where they now lay, feeling sated for the moment. "Only that they will come to you soon."

Now he was sitting behind his desk wondering if this is what Celebrían had meant by ‘soon’. "There’s a delegation leaving for Lórien after the New Year..."

Both twins were shaking their heads at his words, looking mortified. "No, Adar," Elrohir said pleadingly. "We want to go alone... by ourselves."

Now Elrond was nonplused. "Alone."

The twins nodded. "We’re eighty-five, Adar. We’re not elflings anymore," Elladan said, sounding to Elrond’s ears as if he were indeed an elfling of thirty.

"I see." Elrond wondered fleetingly how Celebrían would react to their sons’ latest scheme and decided ruefully that she might find it a fun idea. "I must, of course, discuss this with your naneth."

The twins’ expectant looks fell and Elladan sighed. "I told you he’d say no, ’Ro."

"What I said, iôn nîn," Elrond said firmly, "is that I will discuss your proposal with your naneth. Now, if I’m not mistaken, you’re both late for your sword fighting practice with Glorfindel."

It was obviously a dismissal. Both twins bowed, mumbling "Yes, Adar," as they made a hasty retreat. Elrond looked after them with a slight smile on his face, trying to remember what he’d been doing at eighty-five. He frowned, shaking his head. At that age he and his own twin, Elros, had been fighting alongside the armies of the Maiar and Eldar of Aman against the forces of Morgoth.

A different age, that. Thank the Valar his sons would never know such horror. At least, he amended to himself, he hoped they would not. Rising from his desk, he decided to go in search of his wife. This time of day, she was likely to be in the rose garden tending the plants.

****

"They want to do what?"

Celebrían laughed, not quite believing she had heard Elrond correctly. She carefully placed the seedling she’d been holding into the hole awaiting it, covering its roots with soil and watering it, before standing up. She removed her gloves and stuffed them into a pocket of the apron she wore over her gown. Elrond took one of her hands and led her to a nearby bench under a shady elm.

"They wish to go alone. They want to surprise your parents." His own amusement bubbled up and the two of them found themselves laughing at the thought of either of Celebrían’s parents being surprised by anything, never mind by their daerionnath.

"Oh, dear," Celebrían said, trying to control her laughter. "And I bet they were very earnest about it when they asked you."

"Oh, yes. You should have seen their faces."

Celebrían laughed again, shaking her head. "Will you allow them this?"

Elrond gave his wife a searching look. "Do you think they’re capable of traveling across the Hithaeglir by themselves?"

Celebrían shrugged. "I do not know. What are the risks? We’ve had peace for some time now. Few of Sauron’s minions show themselves anymore."

"But that is not to say that they still do not constitute a threat and there are other dangers besides orcs to be found in the mountains."

Celebrían stared out into the garden, watching idly as butterflies fluttered in the late morning sun. She leaned against Elrond’s shoulder while he wrapped his arm around her. "I trust your judgment in this, my lord. You know better than I the dangers our sons would face were they to travel as they plan. If you forbid them to go, I will support you."

Elrond gave his wife a gentle squeeze, then leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I will discuss this with Glorfindel and Erestor and get their opinions before making a final decision."

****

"You’re joking, of course," Glorfindel laughed, shaking his golden braids in disbelief. "They’re barely old enough to go on patrol and they want to travel across the mountains? By themselves?"

"What do you think, Erestor?" Elrond asked. The three of them were in Elrond’s private study. It was after the noon meal and all three were taking their ease, sipping a light wine and nibbling on fruit and cheese.

Erestor did not say anything at first, looking thoughtful. "I wonder whose idea it was?"

Elrond smiled. "I suspect it was Elrohir’s."

The two ellyn looked at the Lord of Imladris in surprise. "Elrohir?" Glorfindel sputtered. "It’s usually Elladan who comes up with the ideas for their mad schemes."

"Perhaps," Elrond conceded with a nod. "But not this time. This time, it was Elrohir’s idea." He glanced at his chief administrator. "You haven’t said what you think of it all."

Erestor smiled, shaking his head. "No, I haven’t, have I?" He gave Glorfindel a sidelong glance before continuing. "I would like to say they are too young, but frankly, they will always be too young as far as any of us are concerned. I think they should at least be allowed to attempt it."

"But alone?" Glorfindel protested. "That’s insane. Even you and I would never do that. We’ve always had guards with us."

Erestor shook his head. "Not always."

Silence reigned between the three elves for a long moment at the implications of Erestor’s words before Glorfindel turned to Elrond and asked, "Do you know what brought this about?"

Elrond shook his head. "But I can guess. I think they are chafing under our tutelage and want to strike out on their own. Going across the Misty Mountains by themselves is a way of proving themselves to us. If they can do this and arrive in Lórien safely, then it will show their elders that they are indeed no longer elflings."

Glorfindel snorted, but Erestor’s smile merely deepened as he nodded his understanding.

"They don’t think we trust them enough," he said and Elrond gave his administrator an appraising look.

"Well, I think the whole idea is mad from beginning to end," Glorfindel opined, standing up. "However, it’s not my decision to make, thank the Valar."

"Where are you going?" Elrond asked, amusement in his eyes.

Glorfindel gave the Lord of Imladris a wry look. "If your sons are hell-bent on this scheme of theirs, I’d best start thinking of giving them extra survival training or they won’t make it a league outside the Hidden Valley before one of them stubs his toe and they have to come back."

Elrond and Erestor laughed as Glorfindel bowed and left.

****

"Do you really mean it? We can go?" Elrohir asked, his eyes bright with anticipation.

"Alone?" Elladan added, sounding unconvinced that his adar meant it.

Elrond allowed himself a small smile. "Yes, I mean it, and yes, alone."

The twins grinned at each other in triumph.

"But —" and Elrond was hard-pressed not to laugh at the sudden anxious looks his sons gave him. "But, you will not go until you’ve had proper survival training. Glorfindel is designing a program for you and you will not leave unless and until he is satisfied that you can indeed travel safely through the mountains. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Adar," Elladan said and Elrohir nodded.

"Good. Go see Glorfindel."

The twins left, their steps more buoyant than when they had been summoned into Elrond’s study.

****

The training was exhausting, more so than either twin had anticipated and they often came home in a stupor, barely able to bathe and eat dinner before falling into bed. Indeed, so exhausted were they that they slept with their eyes closed, much to Celebrían’s dismay. Elrond and Glorfindel assured her, however, that they would be fine, and so it proved.

By the end of the first week of training they were doing better and could even join the rest of the Imladris elves in the Hall of Fire during the evenings for singing and dancing, though they did not stay long.

At one point, after a most grueling training session, Elrohir made the mistake of accusing Glorfindel of enjoying himself too much in torturing them. Glorfindel merely laughed, the gleam in his eyes turning wicked. Both twins shuddered, suddenly remembering that this was someone who had once slain a balrog.

Two hours later, as the twins stumbled up the steps of the Last Homely House, feeling as if they’d had their insides fed to them, Elladan growled at his brother, "Next time, don’t say anything." Elrohir could only nod in chagrin, too exhausted to speak.

When Glorfindel later related what had happened to their parents and Erestor, Elrond could only laugh, though Celebrían merely sighed, shaking her head, but whether at Glorfindel or her sons, not even she could have said.

Erestor, on the other hand, made the observation that Glorfindel had been too lenient with the twins and the two of them then spent the rest of the evening arguing over appropriate disciplinary techniques to be used on Elrond’s sons. At one point during the discussion Elrond intervened, reminding the two ellyn that when it came to disciplining his sons, he, as their adar, had the final say in the matter.

"Subject to final approval by their naneth, of course," he added, casting a smile at Celebrían, and they all laughed.

Finally, Glorfindel announced himself satisfied that the twins had completed their training successfully and Elrond told them they could start planning their trip.

"Will you ride?"

The twins looked at each other in silent communication. Then Elladan turned to his adar. "We prefer to walk, Adar."

"It’ll take longer and you will have to carry your own supplies, unless you decide to take a packhorse."

"We know," Elrohir nodded. "But we think it’ll be better if we didn’t take the horses."

"And we can live off the land," chimed in Elladan.

Elrond nodded. "Yes, you are both capable hunters and if you leave soon you will probably find plenty of game along the way. Very well, then. Decide your route and we will discuss what you will need to take with you."

There were, of course, two routes overmountain. The most obvious route was the one over the High Pass that began only a week’s ride from Imladris. The other route was over the Redhorn Pass at Caradhras. It was the route that the elves generally took when traveling back and forth between Imladris and Lórien.

"If we take the High Pass," Elladan said as the twins pored over the maps in Elrond’s library, "we can traverse the Vales of Anduin where there are few if any settlements along the way. It’ll be more of an adventure."

"But if we take the Redhorn Pass we can travel through Tharbad, the way Daeradar and Daernaneth do," Elrohir retorted. "The distance is nearly the same, in any case, but I think Caradhras will be an easier route."

Elladan snorted. "But do we necessarily want easy? Besides, Daeradar and Daernaneth always take the Caradhras Pass when they come to visit us and we always take it when we’ve gone to visit them with Adar and Naneth."

"Then the route should be familiar to you and you are less likely to encounter trouble along the way."

The twins turned to see Erestor standing at the doorway, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Hello, Erestor," the twins chimed together.

"Hello, yourselves." Erestor laughed, remembering the times when the twins had been younger and they had greeted him the same way, usually whenever he had caught them plotting one of their numerous schemes. "Still trying to decide which way to go?"

The twins nodded as Erestor continued into the room to glance over the maps strewn across the reading table. "This time of year, Caradhras is not as forbidding as it can be, but it can still be dangerous. It is never an easy route, just less difficult." He stopped as if pondering something, then gave the twins a small smile. "You wouldn’t consider going down to the Dîn Angrenost, would you?"

The twins looked at the older elf with expressions akin to horror. "But what’s the fun of that, Erestor?" protested Elrohir. "The whole point of this expedition is to go over the mountains, not around them. Anyone can do that."

Erestor shrugged. "Just a suggestion, but if you want my opinion, the Redhorn Pass is your better bet. Now, if you will excuse me your adar is waiting for me." The chief administrator of Imladris went to Elrond’s desk to retrieve one of the account books before exiting, leaving the twins alone again.

Elladan looked at his twin. "What do you think?"

Elrohir snorted. "I think our elders are trying to plan our route for us. Have you noticed that in the past two days Glorfindel, Naneth and Adar have all said how they thought the Redhorn Pass was a more suitable route than the High Pass? And now Erestor."

His twin nodded. "Yes, I have." He gave Elrohir a sly look. "So, do we take the bait?"

"An interesting way of putting it, muindor nîn."

****

In the end the twins announced that they would travel by way of Caradhras. Their elders all breathed sighs of relief. Supplies were gathered and gone over, weapons checked and their gear repaired.

Thus it was that early on the first day of Quellë, Elladan and Elrohir set out from Imladris for Lórien with all of Imladris on hand to see them off. Celebrían refrained from fussing over them and giving them useless advice that she knew they would not heed anyway, but stood impassively next to Elrond by the main gate. The Lord of Imladris offered his sons his blessing, calling upon the Valar to watch over them. Glorfindel and Erestor wished them well, admonishing them to remember their training.

Finally, the twins bade their parents and friends farewell and set off. After crossing the bridge separating Imladris from the rest of the valley, they stopped to look back and wave before continuing westward towards the Ford of Bruinen. Once across the Ford they would continue south towards Tharbad.

When the twins were at last out of sight, and most of the rest of the inhabitants of Imladris had departed to their own tasks, Elrond turned to Celebrían. "There is something I must see to. Glorfindel will escort you back to the house." He gave his wife a gentle kiss and with a nod to Glorfindel headed in a direction away from the path leading to the main house.

Celebrían watched her husband walk away then turned to Glorfindel with a questioning look. The golden-haired elf merely shrugged, as much in the dark as Celebrían. It was only when the two of them were making their way back to the house that Glorfindel realized that Erestor was no longer with them.

****

"Do you understand your instructions?"

"Yes, lord," Eluwen answered with an impish grin, which she quickly erased from her face at the look her lord gave her.

The other scout, Thandir, nodded soberly. "We are not to interfere unless they are in extreme danger and we are not to allow them to know of our presence."

Their lord looked at them for a long moment, as if gauging their worth. Eluwen found herself inexplicably fidgeting like a raw recruit. At last he nodded. "Go then, and may the Valar be with you."

The two scouts bowed, hefted their packs onto their backs, grabbed their bows and left, taking one of the lesser known paths leading out of Imladris towards the Ford of Bruinen. The twins would not be traveling fast and it would not be difficult to catch up to them.

As they made their way through the woods, Eluwen grinned at the ellon who had been her husband since the end of the last Age. "This might prove very interesting."

Thandir just snorted. "From your lips to the Valar’s ears, meleth nîn."

****

The last sentry post was a half a league behind them when Elladan and Elrohir stopped by mutual consent. Elladan stared about him, as if ascertaining that they were indeed alone.

"The Ford is not far from here," he said, looking southwestward. "If we’re to do this, we had better do it here. We can skirt the lower stream and avoid the sentries until we’re back on the trail to the High Pass."

Elrohir gave his twin an appraising look. "We can still head south to Tharbad. It doesn’t really matter where we cross the mountains, just so we do."

Elladan shrugged. "Perhaps, but I don’t like being herded along a path like some elfling. Adar and Naneth may be letting us go alone, but they are still telling us what to do."

"Oh, I agree, Brother. I’m just letting you know that if you want to continue to Tharbad, I’m with you."

Elladan grinned, wrapping his arm around Elrohir’s shoulder and giving him a brief hug. "I know, Brother. Come, let us go."

They turned to the southeast, making their way towards the stream that flowed into the Bruinen south of Imladris, before heading directly east. The land here was marshy and they were often hidden by tall grasses that blocked their view. It was not a place they knew well, but they knew to keep the sun in their eyes. By midday they had reached higher and drier ground and they turned northeast towards the foothills shimmering blue-green in the middle distance, with the mountains towering above them, their snow-capped peaks burning bright in the noonday sun.

****

Thandir and Eluwen watched as the twins stopped short of the Ford and then turn abruptly southeastward.

"Where are they going?" Eluwen whispered in exasperation. "The Ford is that way," she pointed unnecessarily towards the southwest.

Thandir shrugged, but a small smile escaped his lips. "I think the sons of Lord Elrond have other plans than the ones their elders made for them."

Eluwen uttered a mild oath and Thandir chuckled softly. "Well, you’re the one who thought this trip would be interesting. Come, let us follow our charges before we lose them in the marshes."

****

The twins made good time during the nearly two weeks it took them to traverse the distance between Imladris and the High Pass by foot. Though it was nearly mid-Narquelië, the weather still held fine during the day, with warm sun and clear skies, although the nights were colder and their fire welcome. Their hope was to reach Lórien in a month’s time, though they allowed themselves an extra two weeks just in case. At any rate, they were determined to reach the Golden Wood before the beginning of Hrívë.

"As long as we don’t encounter anything unexpected we should do well," Elladan had said on the third day out. He had brought down a deer earlier and they were busy dressing the carcass and smoking the meat over a fire.

"I do not understand why everyone was so nervous about us making this journey alone," Elrohir said as he turned the spit. "I mean it’s not as if there are orcs behind every boulder."

Elladan gave his younger twin a wry look. "That’s because we’re still fairly close to Imladris. The last sentry post is only a day behind us if I’m not mistaken. I suspect things will be different once we’re out of arrow-range of home, so to speak."

Elrohir gave his brother a sheepish grin. "You’re probably right."

The terrain began to rise noticeably towards the mountains by the end of the first week. The red stone prevalent in the lower valleys that nestled between the Bruinen and the Hithaeglir was slowly giving way to the grey stone of the true mountains. The glorious colors of the oaks, maples and elms of the lower reaches had been left behind for the evergreen of pine and balsam. Game was not as plentiful in these parts as it had been further down in the valleys, but there were plenty of nuts, berries and roots to supplement their supplies, so they did not feel the pinch of hunger as yet. There was also plenty of water from freshlets and rills.

When they came to the Pass itself, late on the twelfth day since leaving Imladris, they made camp as usual. Elladan quickly started a fire while Elrohir, who was the better cook, began sorting through their supplies to determine what might be had for dinner.

"Do you think we should try the Pass tomorrow?" Elrohir asked his twin as he set about preparing a venison stew. He had discovered a patch of late blackberries earlier that day and had collected some to add to the stew, which would give it a fruity taste. It was a favorite dish of the twins and the cooks of Imladris often made it for them during this time of year.

Elladan shook his head. "I think we should take Adar’s advice about the Redhorn Pass and spend tomorrow resting and checking our gear. We can start the climb a couple of hours before dawn of the next day. That way we should be down the other side before dark."

Elrohir nodded in agreement. He took a look at the darkening sky. Clouds had begun to pile up to the northwest earlier that afternoon, though they did not appear to be too threatening, as yet. Still, he wondered if their luck in good weather was about to end.

"Let us hope it doesn’t rain when we’re climbing the Pass," he said fervently. Elladan merely grunted.

Unbeknown to the twins, Eluwen and Thandir were sitting together in the branches of a nearby larch, listening to their conversation. They glanced at the sky as well, then at each other. Eluwen sighed and snuggled closer to her beloved.

****

The next day was blustery and cold, but it did not rain. Storm clouds swept the sky, piling rapidly atop one another, as if racing to be the first to reach the mountains. The twins eyed the weather with some trepidation , but otherwise continued to spend the day going over their gear and replenishing their supplies. There were no deer this high up but Elrohir brought down a brace of coneys and spent the better part of the afternoon smoking the meat for future consumption.

"Once on the other side, we should have better luck with game," Elladan said, as he sat by their fire cleaning his sword. Elrohir merely grunted, then went in search of edible roots and berries to take with them while Elladan tended the fire.

Meanwhile, Thandir and Eluwen were busy with their own preparations. They had slipped away from the twins’ camp before dawn to hunt. Having gone back towards the valley, they allowed themselves a small fire since they were nowhere near where the sons of Elrond would find them.

As they sat by the fire, checking their own gear, Eluwen moaned, "Oh why couldn’t these foolish children have stuck to the plan and gone to Tharbad? We could be sleeping in a soft bed tonight."

Thandir gave his mate a wry look. "How long have you been a scout, my dear?"

Eluwen stuck her tongue out at her husband. "Too long."

Thandir snickered, bending down to give his beloved a kiss on her head. "Well, there’s no soft bed to be had, but there’s a warm fire and I have a blanket that’s not being used at the moment."

He leered suggestively and Eluwen raised an eyebrow, then smiled wickedly. "Just remember, dear, no screaming. We don’t want the children to hear us."

Thandir laughed loudly at that even as he pulled his wife to him and began kissing her long and deeply. In the end they didn’t bother with the blanket.

****

The night was chill and frost rimed the ground when Elladan, who had taken the last watch, roused his brother. "Time to go." They quickly downed some scalding hot tea and munched on some waybread before breaking camp, dousing the fire and generally leaving no trace of their presence before starting their climb.

Ithil was lost behind the clouds and could offer no light, so they made torches to help them find the path. The scouts, some distance behind them, breathed sighs of relief. They would be able to follow the torches well enough until Anor crested the mountains, though it was unlikely she would be seen today.

The first part of the climb was gentle enough and the twins made good time in spite of walking in the dark, made more so by the clouds blocking both moon and stars. It was an hour past dawn though before they began to feel the climb, for the way became steep and the path narrowed, twisting back and forth across the face of the mountain as it wended higher and higher. They stopped twice to rest, their packs feeling heavier with every step.

"Maybe we should have considered bringing a packhorse with us," Elrohir said when they stopped the second time, taking a swig of water from his waterskin.

"Maybe," Elladan agreed. "But it would have been impracticable considering our change in plans."

"I suppose," Elrohir conceded reluctantly. "Come on, let’s see if we can reach the crest by noon. If nothing else, the climb is giving me an appetite."

So they continued on, passing the tree line sometime later. It was not so late in the year that the snowpack would block the pass, but it was deep enough. There was still the danger of avalanches so they kept a wary eye on their surroundings. If it suddenly started raining, or even snowing at this high altitude, they might encounter problems.

But the weather held. They reached the crest shortly before noon and munched on some waybread and slightly moldy cheese, giving their legs a well-deserved rest before continuing down. They had not gone far when they heard thunder. Looking back they could see flashes of lightning brightening the sky over Eriador, though it did not look all that close.

"I think our luck is about to end, Brother," Elladan said. "Let’s see if we can get down to the tree line and find some shelter."

Eluwen and Thandir, meanwhile, were still on the western side of the crest when the rain began.

"Orcspit!" Eluwen yelled, throwing the hood of her cloak over her head.

"Come on, let’s get up to the crest. I doubt the twins will see us in all this rain."

The two scouts made a mad dash for the crest, which lay about a hundred feet above them. By the time they reached it they were both wet and mud-splattered. They peered through the rain-filled darkness, hoping to catch a glimpse of their charges.

"Do you see them?" Thandir asked, for Eluwen’s eyes were sharper than his own.

She shook her head. "Nay, but I’m not surprised. We deliberately held back to give them plenty of time to get further down the mountain so they wouldn’t see us if they looked back. Come on, we can’t stay here. It’s too dangerous."

Thus, they followed the twins down. By now the storm had crossed the mountains to hit the other side, though most of its fury had already been spent. Still, the lightning and thunder continued apace and the rain fell hard.

Elladan and Elrohir made the best time they could, taking care not to run, for the way was still steep and now the rain was making the ground slick, turning everything to mud as the snow melted under them. Through the darkness they could see a deeper gloom that must mark the beginning of the tree line further down.

"We’re almost there," Elrohir shouted just as a particularly close bolt of lightning flashed above them followed by a clap of thunder that was so loud it caused the ground to tremble. The sound of thunder rumbled on, echoing across the mountains, but instead of fading, seemed to grow louder. Elladan looked back and grabbed his brother’s arm.

"Avalanche!" he screamed, pulling Elrohir with him as he began to run. Elrohir had just enough time to look back to see a mass of snow and scree come rushing towards them before he was swept out of his brother’s hold.

****

Orod: Mountain.

Daeradar: Grandfather.

Daernaneth: Grandmother.

Naneth: Mother.

Adar: Father.

Iôn nîn:  My son.

Daerionnath: Grandsons; the singular would be daerion.

Hithaeglir:  Misty Mountains.

Muindor nîn: My brother.

Quellë: (Quenya) The season known as "Fading" by the elves, which begins around 30 Yavannië (Ivanneth), which month we know as September. Also called Lasselanta (Leaf-falling), or in Sindarin, either Firith or Narbeleth. This season lasts 54 days.

Ellon/ellyn: Male elf/elves.

Meleth nîn: My love.

Dîn Angrenost: The Gap of Angrenost; what would later become known as the Gap of Rohan. I have postulated that at this time it would be named after the most prominent feature in the area — Orthanc.

Narquelië: (Quenya) the month we know as October. In Sindarin it was called Narbeleth.

Eluwen: (OC) a Sinda born in Lindon after the War of Wrath whose parents followed Oropher to Eryn Galen. Later, she removed to Imladris. The name was given in memory of Elu Thingol.

Thandir: (OC) a Noldo of Imladris, born in Aman. His name in the Undying Lands was Calamandil. Thandir is a Sindarin version of his amilessë or mother-name, Turmaher "Shield lord".

Hrívë: The season known as "Winter" by the elves; in Sindarin, Rhîw. It begins around 24 Hísimë (Hithui), which month we know as November. This season lasts 72 days.

Note: Elladan and Elrohir were born in T.A. 130. This story takes place in T.A. 215. At eighty-five the twins are the equivalent of a young adult human of about thirty-six.

II: Goblins, Wargs and Bears, Oh My!

Thandir raised his head to look about. At the moment the avalanche began he had pushed Eluwen off the path and thrown her against a spur of rock, pinning her there. Luckily they were still near the crest of the pass so they were able to avoid the worst of it. They suffered little damage, save that Eluwen could feel the bruises forming where her body pressed against the unforgiving rock.

The roar of the avalanche had been loud and frightening while it lasted, but the silence that followed was deafening. Thandir looked down to where the twins had been and saw nothing but mountain. The rain was letting up, though the sky was still a purple bruise as storm clouds continued racing towards Rhovanion and Eryn Galen iDhaer.

"We need to find the twins," he said to Eluwen, his voice sounding overly loud in the quiet. "If they were caught in that..."

The thought that either or both of Lord Elrond’s sons might lie dead beneath a mountain of snow caused Eluwen to shiver with more than just the cold wet of the rain. "We won’t know until we find them," she finally said and pushed her husband off her.

They made their way cautiously down the path. The way was treacherous with mud mixed with snow and loose rubble. About where they had last seen the twins, they stopped, suddenly feeling indecisive. Their orders still stood. They were not to interfere or be seen by the twins, but none in Imladris had anticipated that Elladan and Elrohir would make for the High Pass and be caught in an avalanche, either. The scouts were saved from having to make a decision either way by the sound of Elrohir shouting.

"’Dan! Elladan! Man sad ci? ’Dan!" Elrohir’s voice was frantic and Eluwen stifled a gasp and clutched Thandir’s arm, tears flowing freely down her face. She wanted desperately to go to the twins’ aid, but Thandir held her close.

"Wait," he whispered. "Let us see if we are truly needed." And so they waited, listening in wretched silence as Elrohir continued calling for his twin.

****

Elrohir thought that he might be dead, or perhaps blind. He knew his eyes were open but he could not see anything. It was also difficult to breathe and everywhere he was surrounded by snow. He resisted the urge to panic, remembering at the last minute everything Glorfindel had taught him. Taking a slow, deep breath, he began digging. With his right hand he dug above him, while with the left he dug underneath him, for he had no way of telling in which direction the surface lay. After a moment, though, his right hand broke through the snow covering him and he began to dig in earnest, finally clearing himself. The rain pelting his face felt good and soon he was completely free of his prison.

Standing up he realized that he had neither bow nor pack, but he did not worry about that. His main concern was for Elladan. He began shouting his brother’s name, trying to gauge where Elladan might be. The avalanche had swept them apart and Elrohir did not know if his brother was further up or further down the path or even if he lay just two feet away.

"Elladan! Please! Where are you, muindor nîn?" Tears of panic mingled with the rain as Elrohir frantically began digging in random spots hoping to find his brother by pure luck. He prayed silently to the Valar and thought of the grief his parents would feel if he came back alone.

Finally, exhaustion took over and the young ellon collapsed in a heap, weeping quietly, fear for his brother’s safety overwhelming him. By now the rain had stopped and a profound silence reigned over the mountains. Anor, still hidden behind dark clouds, was setting, and here on the eastern slopes of the Hithaeglir all was in darkness, wet and drear.

"A Elbereth Gilthoniel, silivren penna míriel..."

Elrohir looked up, his expression wondering. The song was faint, barely heard. "’Dan?" Elrohir whispered, not sure if he was hearing correctly. "Elladan!" he shouted, standing up.

"...Na-chaered palan-díriel o galadhremmin ennorath..."

Elrohir began running heedlessly downslope, shouting Elladan’s name over and over again. He finally slid to a halt, tumbling in his haste as he found himself crashing into a stand of scrub pine marking the upper reaches of the tree line.

"Mae govannen, muindor nîn."

Elrohir looked up to see Elladan caught in the branches of a nearby tree, hanging nearly upside down, his braids all awry.

"’Dan, what are you doing up there?" Elrohir asked stupidly.

Elladan gave his brother a jaundiced look. "Birds-nesting. And you?"

The absurdity of his brother’s reply hit him and Elrohir began laughing and then crying as relief swept over him.

"Hey! What are you crying for?" shouted Elladan. "I’m the one stuck in this damn tree! Get me down!"

Elrohir hiccupped and struggled to calm himself, then tried to ascertain how best to get his twin down from the tree. He climbed up to where Elladan was hanging.

"Anything broken?"

"No, at least not that I can tell, but I’m pretty well wedged in so I can’t move anything."

"Let me see, then."

It was difficult to see anything in the dark but luckily the clouds were beginning to break up and a thin beam of moonlight peeped through, enough for Elrohir to see what Elladan meant. The ellon had somehow managed to wedge himself in the crotch of the tree, but with careful maneuvering, Elrohir was able to extricate his brother with much cursing on both their parts. Eventually they were both on the ground, Elladan feeling limp from lack of circulation, while Elrohir was simply limp from exhaustion.

For a long while they just lay there idly watching the clouds break up and the moon drift westward until Elrohir stirred himself.

"We need to move, brother, and find a place where we can make a fire if possible. Do you still have your pack? Mine is lost, I’m afraid, as is also my bow. I think only a few of my arrows remain, the rest were shattered."

"Look above and to your right. I think my pack is there but I do not know where my bow is."

Elrohir stood and sure enough Elladan’s pack was hanging from a branch on the same tree where Elladan had hung. It took only a few minutes to retrieve it and to find that it was mostly intact, though most of the food was crushed and rather useless. Still, there was a tinder box and some dry clothing that they could share, as well as some line for fishing or snaring, so they wouldn’t starve. There was even one of their cooking pots, a small amount of cooking oil and two or three packets of spices. Elladan’s bedroll had also survived, and they both had their swords, but that was about it.

Looking over their now meager supplies, Elladan sighed. "Well, I suppose it could be worse."

Elrohir snorted. "From your lips to the Valar’s ears, muindor nîn."

Some distance above them on the path, but still within earshot and eyeshot of the twins, who never bothered to look back up the trail, the two elven scouts stared at one another and grimaced in agreement with Elrohir’s statement.

Once they were sufficiently recovered the twins worked their way into the trees. They had looked for the path they had been on before the avalanche, but even in moonlight they could not find it, for much of it was now buried under snow. They contented themselves with finding a small clearing where a spur of the mountain jutted out, giving them some shelter from the wind, if nothing else. There they got a small fire going.

Elrohir found a packet of tea in the bottom of the pack, so they were able to make some tea. There were no mugs — those had been in Elrohir’s pack — so they took turns sipping from the pot. It wasn’t much but it heartened them, nonetheless.

Elrohir insisted that Elladan try to sleep while he took the first watch. "You had a rougher time of it than I did, brother," the younger twin said, "and I’m not feeling sleepy yet."

Elladan reluctantly agreed and soon was lost in the path of dreams while Elrohir went about the task of finding more firewood.

And in another part of the woods Thandir and Eluwen sat beneath a tree, huddled under their cloaks, quietly discussing what they might do to help the twins without going against orders.

****

Morning came bringing with it more rain, much to everyone’s disgust, though it soon tapered off and by noon it had stopped. The only bright spot of the day was Elladan discovering a dead deer partially buried in the snow not far from where they had camped. By the looks of things it must have been caught in the avalanche, its neck broken in the fall. The body was somewhat mangled and in their rush to recover as much meat as possible the twins did not notice that an arrow had pierced the flesh near the deer’s heart or realize that the animal’s neck had been broken after death.

The twins spent the rest of the day resting and smoking as much deer meat as they could carry between them. Elladan had complained of feeling too bruised to move very far and Elrohir was not adverse to spending a day relaxing himself. They decided, however, to at least look for the path, if it still existed, or failing that, determine the best way down the mountain, for they had learned, much to their dismay, that their camp was perched on a ridge that ran north and south along the face of the mountain but offered no way down along the east side. Behind them, of course, lay the bulk of the mountain.

"We could cut crosswise along the mountain’s flank following this ridge," Elrohir suggested, pointing southward. "See where it slopes downward? Even if the path no longer exists, we should still be able to reach the foothills with little trouble."

Elladan, however, was skeptical. "It looks easy enough, but I would rather find the path. There has to be some sign of it somewhere."

So they hunted for the path, trying to gauge where it could be in relation to where they were. But in that they were doomed to failure. The avalanche had done its work too well. It would be spring before the snow would melt enough for anyone to see where the path should be and set about restoring it. So, in the end, they followed Elrohir’s suggestion and the next day made their way along the ridge, hoping that it would eventually lead downward towards the foothills.

The going was somewhat slow, for the ridge was narrow and often blocked by boulders over which they would have to climb. By noon they estimated they had covered only a league, maybe two, but no more. The trees often blocked their view so it was hard to gauge if they were any further down the mountain.

By late afternoon, however, they could tell they had made some progress. Just before the sun disappeared behind the bulk of the mountain the trees fell away, leaving an unobstructed view to the south and east. They could see that they were much lower than before.

"Look! We’ve almost reached the valley," Elladan exclaimed. "We should be down off this mountain by tomorrow."

"Let’s find someplace to set up camp in the meantime," Elrohir suggested.

They went a little further and to their delight discovered a small cave where the shoulder of the mountain abutted the ridge. It nearly blocked their way, but the ridge curved around it and there was a wide ledge at the cave’s entrance that overlooked the valley below them. They carefully checked to see that the cave wasn’t already occupied and indeed it did not look as if it had been occupied for some time, if ever. Within minutes they had a small fire going just at the entrance to the cave and were busy heating water for tea and warming the smoked meat on sticks. Afterwards they sat as comfortably as possible by the fire, silently watching the stars come out, shining in all their glory.

"This trip isn’t turning out the way I thought it would," Elrohir said with a sigh at one point.

Elladan gave his twin a wry grin. "You think?"

Elrohir just shook his head. "Adar is going to be very upset with us when he finds out what we’ve done."

Elladan frowned, staring at the flames of their fire dancing in the light evening breeze. "Perhaps, but if we can reach Lórien we will have proved that we’re not elflings any more. Adar and Glorfindel won’t even let us on patrols yet, except for short ones within the borders of Imladris, where it’s safe." This last was said with an air of disgust. "And Adar was our age when he was fighting against Morgoth’s army. It’s really not fair."

Elrohir snorted at that but made no move to dispute his brother’s claims. "Come, I took the first watch last night, it’s your turn tonight." With that Elrohir entered the cave and wrapped their one bedroll about him, while Elladan continued sitting by the fire staring at the stars.

****

It was a snuffling sound that woke him. Elladan started awake, suddenly aware, with some embarrassment, that he had fallen asleep during his watch. He was leaning against the rock next to the cave entrance; the fire was nearly out. He silently berated himself even as he took stock of his surroundings, trying to determine what had brought him out of the path of dreams. By the position of the stars he could tell that it was very late. Already the eastern sky was greying with the coming dawn. Not only had he slept through his watch, but through most of Elrohir’s as well. A quick glance into the cave showed his brother still asleep. They must have both been more exhausted than either had guessed.

The snuffling sound came again and much closer. Elladan tried to move as quietly as possible, crawling into the cave to wake his brother. He reached out to touch Elrohir’s leg and give it a shake.

"Elrohir," he whispered. Elrohir jerked awake but went still when he felt his brother squeezing his leg in warning. He sat up carefully, then reached down and pulled Elladan closer to him.

"What is it?" he whispered into his brother’s ear.

"Listen."

Now Elrohir heard the snuffling sound as well. And something else.

"I think we’re in trouble, Brother," was his only comment as they eased themselves from the cave before attempting to stand up. As silently as possible they drew their swords from their scabbards.

"Do you see anything?" Elrohir’s voice was barely above a whisper but easily heard by his twin.

Elladan started to shake his head, then stopped. "There," he said, pointing to their right, facing south along the ridge.

A dark shape, hunched over, came shuffling towards them. It seemed to the two elves that it was hunting something. It took them a moment to realize what they were seeing.

"It’s a bear cub," Elrohir said unnecessarily, for his twin could easily see that it was so. He replaced his sword in his scabbard and Elladan did the same.

The cub had now reached them and they could see it came no higher than mid-thigh to them. It stopped at the sight of the elves and sat on its haunches, apparently surprised to see them but too young to realize its possible danger. Elrohir squatted down and put his hand out for the cub to smell. The cub leaned over and gave a tentative sniff, then with a sort of mewling growl, moved towards the elf, trying to butt its head into Elrohir’s thigh as the elf stood, as if seeking comfort. Both twins began petting the creature, stroking its bristly fur and crooning soft nothings to comfort it.

"I wonder what it’s doing here?" Elrohir asked idly, continuing to scratch the cub’s ears, much to that creature’s pleasure.

"Maybe it’s looking for it’s naneth," Elladan quipped, then gasped at the implications of his own words, grasping his brother’s arm. "We better get away from here. We don’t want to be here when nana comes looking for her cub."

"There’s nowhere to go," Elrohir protested even as he hurried to gather their supplies while Elladan doused the coals, carefully making sure there was no smoke to betray them. The cub, unsure of the reason for its new-found friends’ panic, came shuffling after them, crying piteously, not wanting to lose the comfort it had felt in the elves’ presence.

"No, pen dithen," Elrohir said, attempting to shoo the cub away. "Go find your nana, there’s a good cubling."

But the cub would have none of that. Even as the twins moved down the ridge — "It’s the only direction available to us," Elladan had said when Elrohir had protested his twin’s choice of route, considering that the mother bear was probably somewhere nearby — the bear cub followed, bawling after them. Elrohir kept stopping, trying to shoo the cub away, while Elladan kept urging his twin to "stop playing with the damn cub and move!"

By now the eastern sky was turning from grey to purple with a hint of rose and yellow as the dawn approached. In their rush to leave the cub behind neither twin noticed the two scouts following them.

****

Thandir had had the last watch and was both amused and frustrated at the sight of Elladan sleeping away. Amused, because it showed just how young these two really were in the eyes of their elders; frustrated, because he so sorely wanted to go down to the camp and be the one to wake the youth, reaming him out for dereliction of duty as if he were any raw recruit rather than the son and heir of the Lord of Imladris. He contented himself with mentally writing a report to his lord, instead.

Thus, he heard the snuffling noise before Elladan did and quietly woke Eluwen to warn her. The scouts moved silently closer to the twins’ camp, ready to protect Elrond’s sons if needed. They were as surprised and amused by the sight of the bear cub as the twins, but the implications of its presence hit them sooner and Thandir found himself silently cursing even as Eluwen was busy scanning the area for any sign of the mother bear. There was none, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t near, looking for her wayward cub.

In spite of the possible danger facing the twins, both scouts were amused by their antics as they hurriedly broke camp while trying to dissuade the little bear not to follow them. It was really quite funny, Eluwen had commented as she and Thandir set out to follow the twins, seeing the sons of Elrond running with a bear cub after them. Elrohir’s attempts to shoo the cub away brought huge grins on the scouts’ faces and both were hard pressed not to laugh aloud, thereby giving away their presence.

As the scouts followed the twins, a bend in the mountain, coupled with a dip and rise in the ridge, momentarily blocked their view, so they did not witness the meeting of the twins with the bear cub’s mother.

****

The twins had reached the top of the rise and had started down. Now the ridge was broadening out and becoming shallow as it reached the valley floor. Fields of tall grass and wildflowers surrounded them with here and there a lone tree. Suddenly, a grunting roar sounded in the morning air and a dark shape rose out of the grass, tall and menacing.

Nana had found her baby. 

The twins stared in horror at the sight of the mother bear looming over them and beginning to advance. She was easily twice as tall as they standing on her haunches. Unlike her child, she was not pleased to see them.

"Run!" Elladan screamed and grabbed his brother’s arm, pulling him to the right.

They ran through the fields, heedless of their path, thus they did not see the mother bear stopping to check over her cub, giving it a cuff on its head for good measure, before herding her child away.

Nor did they see the gaping hole into which they fell.

****

Elrond pinned the Man with an implacable stare, his ageless eyes dark and fathomless, a dangerous light beginning to glimmer in their depths. "What do you mean, they never arrived at Tharbad?"

The Elf-lord’s voice was soft, almost conversational in tone, which only made it worse. The Man standing before him was a proven warrior, one of King Valandil’s most trusted retainers, and well-known to the Elves of Imladris. Elrond knew the Man had faced down hoards of orcs and bandits in his day without a qualm.

Now, however, Borgil son of Boradan was sweating like the proverbial pig and looking as if he would rather be facing an army of orcs without a weapon at hand than be standing there giving Elrond his report on the Elf-lord’s apparently missing sons. Elrond relented somewhat, shifting his gaze to allow the Man time to recover.

"It is as I said, my lord," Borgil said in a strangled voice, sounding more like a beardless youth than a father of three and grandfather of two. "My men kept their eyes out for Lords Elladan and Elrohir all along the route they were supposed to have taken, but there was never any sign of them. They never crossed the Bruinen and they never came to Tharbad."

"Then where in all of Middle-earth did they go?" This was Glorfindel, entering the room as Borgil finished speaking.

Elrond glanced at the golden-haired elf with a wry expression. "Can you not guess, mellon nîn? They have done the one thing we didn’t want them to do."

Glorfindel’s eyes widened with realization and his mouth thinned in anger. "I’m going to kill them," he said softly, then muttered an oath in Quenya that caused Elrond’s eyebrows to go up.

"Not if I get to them first," the Lord of Imladris said with studied calm.

The two elves stared at one another and then smiled in a way that boded ill for the twins. Standing there, virtually ignored, and seeing the expressions on the two Elf-lords’ faces, Borgil felt almost sorry for the twins, but, being a father himself, he knew exactly how Lord Elrond felt.

"Thank you, Captain," Elrond said suddenly, shifting his ageless gaze upon the Mortal. "I have an idea what route my sons took. You may return your men to their regular patrol. Please extend my gratitude to King Valandil for his assistance in this matter."

Borgil bowed deeply and left, glad to be away from the immortal lord’s regard. For a long moment silence reigned in the study. Elrond wondered briefly how he was going to break the news to Celebrían. Coming to a decision, he abruptly stood up.

"Glorfindel, ready my horse."

Glorfindel eyed his lord with surprise. "You mean to follow them across the High Pass?"

Elrond smiled grimly. "Oh, worse than that, mellon nîn. I mean to be there in Lórien waiting for them when they arrive."

****

Man sad ci?: Where are you (singular)?

Eryn Galen iDhaer: Greenwood the Great. It will be another 835 years before a shadow falls on this forest and its name is changed to Mirkwood.

Mae govannen: Well met.

Pen dithen: Little one.

Mellon nîn: My friend.

Note: The lines from the hymn to Elbereth are taken from the Lord of the Rings, Book II, Chapter 1, "Many Meetings".

III: Anno dulu enni!

Thandir and Eluwen stared about them at the deceptively peaceful scene. They had heard Elladan scream and hastened their steps up the rise, but by the time they reached the crest, there was no sign of the twins, only a mother bear ambling into the valley with a bear cub in tow.

"Where are they?" Eluwen cried, looking about almost frantically. "We were no more than a minute behind them. Where could they have disappeared to?"

Thandir shrugged, frowning in frustration. "Let’s separate and see if we can find any trace. Perhaps they are both injured. From where those bears are I would guess the twins encountered nana somewhere around here. Why don’t you go up towards that rock fall and I’ll work my way downward."

So saying, Thandir jumped off the ridge towards the valley, following the bears through meadow grass and pine, staying far back and downwind to them. Eluwen moved back towards the mountain. They dared not call out, for their orders still stood. The search was long and tedious, for the grass was just high enough to hide half an army of orcs. After nearly an hour of searching, both scouts were in a sour mood.

"I could cheerfully drown those two right about now," Thandir stated when he and Eluwen met up again at the point where they had separated. Eluwen silently agreed.

"Let’s try further down the ridge," Eluwen suggested. "Perhaps they got further along than we assume."

Thandir grunted in agreement. They had gone only few hundred feet down the ridge when Eluwen noticed where the grass was still flattened. "Here, Thandir. They ran in this direction."

The scouts loped through the tall grass back towards the mountain. The trail was now more distinct and the scouts quickened their pace. Eluwen was so intent on the trail that she almost didn’t see the hole gaping through the grass before her. Thandir caught her at the last moment and pulled her back.

They stood there looking down in disbelief. It was not a particularly large hole, but it was certainly large enough for a couple of bodies to fall through. There were traces of tree branches that apparently had been placed across the hole, hiding it from view. This was obviously meant to be a trap. The shaft seemed to curve somewhat so that the bottom could not be seen. The sides were smooth and had a finished look to them that was not natural.

"You have got to be kidding me!" Thandir shouted, now in an absolute rage.

Eluwen looked at her husband in surprise. "What?"

"Look about you, Eluwen," Thandir practically snarled, sweeping his arms around, still incensed. Eluwen followed his gestures with her eyes, seeing nothing but mountains, meadows and trees under a blue late-autumn sky. "How do they do it?"

Eluwen wacked Thandir on the chest. "Talk sense, Thandir. What in the name of the Valar are you going on about?"

Thandir looked at his wife, the anger dissipating. In a softer voice he said, "In all this wilderness, how did they manage to find this one hole to fall into?"

Now Eluwen understood why Thandir was feeling so frustrated. She smiled wryly. "Blind luck?"

Thandir snorted, his humor somewhat restored. "More like uncanny luck. Only those two would manage to fall into the only hole for leagues around."

"Well, as to that, beloved, we don’t know if this is the only hole for leagues around. It’s obviously a trap of some kind. I think we should start thinking about what we should do next. They’ve had plenty of time to climb out of there, assuming they weren’t severely injured in the fall."

"And assuming the shaft is climbable. Those walls look unnaturally smooth to me."

Eluwen crouched down for a better look. "Hmmm. I think you’re right. There are chisel marks here. But I don’t think it’s dwarf-work."

Thandir crouched next to her, running his fingers along the lip of the hole. "I agree. Dwarves did not carve this shaft."

"So, who — "

Thandir grimaced as he put an arm around his wife. "I think our twins have fallen into a goblin hole."

****

Elrohir moaned, wishing the dwarves banging on his head would stop long enough for him to get a word in edgewise. He rolled over and opened his eyes, trying to gauge where he was. There was little illumination, but what he could see was not heartening.

He appeared to be in an underground chamber, lying on some broken tree branches. A beam of light filtered down from somewhere above him. The chamber extended beyond the range of the light and the far walls were lost in gloom. From the echoes caused by his moving about, though, he guessed the chamber was not very large. He looked above him and saw where he and Elladan had fallen through. The entrance to the upper world lay perhaps ten feet above, coming down from an angle along one wall. He stood up carefully and made his way to the wall to see if he could climb it. There were toe-holds and finger-holds and he made his way quickly up the wall, but when he reached the shaft itself, he discovered that its sides were smooth and he could not find any purchase.

He eased himself back down to the floor and belatedly remembered his brother. He looked about but saw no sign, yet Elladan had fallen through first.

"Elladan!"

The echoes reverberated loudly in the small chamber.

"Sîdh, muindor nîn." Elladan came walking out of the gloom to Elrohir’s left. "I’ve been exploring our surroundings."

"Why didn’t you wake me?" Elrohir asked accusingly.

Elladan smiled, a teasing light in his eyes. "As to that, you looked so peaceful, I just didn’t have the heart."

Elrohir gave an inarticulate cry and flung himself on his twin, allowing his anger and frustration to take hold. The two of them spent several minutes wrestling before Elladan, always the stronger , managed to pin his brother to the floor. Finally, Elrohir stopped struggling.

"Feeling better?" Elladan asked, sympathetically.

Elrohir sighed and nodded but otherwise did not speak. After another moment, Elladan released his brother, offering a hand to help him up. "I’m sorry, muindor nîn. I actually did try to rouse you but you would have none of it, so I decided to see if there was a way out of here, since that shaft is too smooth to climb."

"Did you find anything?" Elrohir asked, his curiosity outweighing his anger.

Elladan nodded. "Back that way is another opening." He pointed in the direction in which he had come when Elrohir had called out to him. "It’s not particularly large, but we should be able to manage it."

"Where do you think it goes?"

"Only one way to find out, isn’t there?"

"Any idea who might have made that shaft?"

"Dwarves maybe, but I’m not sure. The rest of this chamber is rough-hewn from what I can tell. Certainly not dwarf-work, but let’s face it," he gave Elrohir a wry look, "how much experience with dwarf-work have we actually had?"

Elrohir snorted, but whether in agreement or not, it was hard to say. "Well, standing here isn’t getting us anywhere. Lead on, brother."

Elladan led the way to the opening he had mentioned. It was not overly large, barely chest high to them. They took a couple of minutes to light their tinder and soak some cloth stripped from a spare shirt in what cooking oil they had left. Then they wrapped the strips around several kindling sticks, and lit one of them.

"They’re not going to last," Elrohir cautioned Elladan and his twin nodded.

"We’ll have to hope we find a way out before they’re all used up."

Crouching down, they could see that there was a low passage that curved to the left, so that their view was blocked a few feet ahead of them. Elladan took the torch from Elrohir and, with a meaningful look to his twin, entered the passage, disappearing from view rather quickly. Elrohir took a deep breath before following him.

****

"So what do we do?" asked Eluwen.

They were standing above the shaft looking down into it.

Thandir sighed. "Do we have a choice?"

His wife shook her head. "I’ll go down since I’m lighter."

Thandir nodded and Eluwen took her rucksack off her back and began rummaging around, bringing up a length of hithlain rope, handing it to Thandir, who began to pay it out. The elleth tied one end of the rope about her waist while Thandir held the other end tightly. She also stuck an unlit torch in her belt. Carefully she sat down at the lip of the shaft and allowed Thandir to lower her as slowly as possible. Even so her descent was swifter than she would have liked and in seconds she was hanging above the chamber yelling at Thandir to hold his position. She managed to find a toe-hold and with shouted instructions for Thandir to pay out more of the rope, made her way to the floor. Only then did she take time to notice that there was no sign of Elrond’s sons. She sighed, loosening the rope even as she shouted up to Thandir to tell him what she had found, or rather, not found.

"There are footprints in the dust," she yelled up through the shaft. "I’m going to see where they go. Perhaps they haven’t gotten far."

There was little hope of that. If the twins had not been injured and quickly realized they could not climb the shaft, they would have had more than an hour’s lead on the scouts in exploring the cavern and perhaps finding another way out. Eluwen examined the footprints for a moment and was relieved to learn that there were only two sets, which meant that the twins had left of their own accord. She lit her torch with her flint and steel and then followed the trail to the left. Soon she found the opening. Bending down she thrust the torch into the tunnel beyond and saw how it curved. She moved into the passage to the bend and saw how, at this point, it opened up so an elf could stand. The footprints continued on. Just to be sure, she retraced her steps and took a slow circuit around the rest of the chamber, checking for other openings, but when she returned to the shaft, it was obvious where the twins had gone.

She yelled up at Thandir about her findings.

"There’s nothing for it then," he yelled back. "We’re going to have to follow them. I’m going to gather some materials for more torches and then come down."

It took only minutes for Thandir to tie the other end of the rope to a nearby tree and gather what he needed before joining Eluwen. They decided to leave the rope where it was in the event that they were forced to make a retreat. Making their way to the opening they then preceded to follow the twins into the heart of the mountain.

****

"Well, here’s the last of the torches," Elrohir said as he handed the lit brand to Elladan. "Make it last, Brother."

Elladan smiled thinly. "I’ll do my best."

There was no way to tell how long or how far they had walked. The passage they were in wound its way through the mountain in no discernable pattern. Twice they found themselves in large caverns, untouched by any chisel except that wielded by Time. Slow drips of moisture formed rows of dragon’s teeth around which they carefully maneuvered. In both caverns, after some exploration, they found that there was again only one opening. By the time the final torch was lit they were in yet another cavern, smaller than the last two. Elladan made a circuit around while Elrohir stood before the opening through which they had come. It took only minutes in the guttering light to determine that they now faced a new predicament.

There were three openings here, not including the one from which they had entered the cavern.

"Any suggestions?" Elladan asked his twin when he had reported his findings.

Elrohir shrugged. "Are the openings all the same?"

Elladan shook his head. "Two go straight for a few feet, but then one heads down, the other up. The third passage appears to loop back towards this direction. The air from that one smells somewhat foul. Not stale, mind you, but foul."

"And the other two?"

Elladan paused to think for a moment, trying to remember his feelings about the two other passages. "The passage leading down smells somewhat fresher, but that makes no sense. It should be the passage going up, for that would lead to the surface, would it not?"

"I don’t know," Elrohir admitted, for neither ellon had had any experience with caving. "You might be right. Why don’t we try the passage going up, first? If it doesn’t seem to be going anywhere we can always backtrack and take the other passage."

Elladan nodded and showed his brother the way. The other three passages were actually quite close to one another and both twins held their breath as they passed the entrance with the foul smell. Neither wanted to even guess what might have caused the smell in the first place. The other two passages lay further on and indeed the air in the passage leading down did smell somewhat fresher, but not so much that it enticed them from the third passage. Praying they had made the right decision the twins entered the third passage and began the climb up.

****

"I think we made a mistake, Brother," Elrohir said after they had been walking for what felt like hours but was probably only three quarters of an hour later. They had stopped to rest for a moment.

Elladan merely grunted. By now they were terribly thirsty, but their waterskins were nearly empty so they decided to save what they could in hopes that they would come upon an underground stream or lake where they could replenish their supply.

The passage that had seemed so promising became less so the further along they traveled. After rising for some time the passage dipped suddenly, then began to wind itself in a serpentine manner. At one point the passage met with another coming from an acute angle so they weren’t entirely sure if they were still in the same passage or the other one. At any rate, they were soon lost and any hope of retracing their steps became pointless.

And their last torch was beginning to go out.

"We need to keep going," Elladan finally said. "It’s death for us for sure if we stay here. Moving, we have a chance of winning free of this labyrinth, even if we have to do so in the dark."

Elrohir nodded. "Let’s go then."

They had not taken more than a score of steps when a foul stench assaulted their noses and they both started gagging. A raucous cry came from behind them and to their right where yet another passage intersected the one they were in, a passage neither had noticed. Before either could react they found themselves being attacked.

"Yrch!" Elladan yelled.

They both tried to draw their swords but were too late. The hoard of goblins fell upon them with shrieks of glee and hatred and carried them to the floor. What the goblins did to them then was done in the dark.

****

Thandir and Eluwen stared at the three passages in dismay. The twins’ footprints were easily discernible in the torchlight going up the lefthand passage.

"Tell me they didn’t go up instead of down?" Eluwen asked rhetorically. She wrinkled her nose waving a hand towards the passage on their right. "That smell...."

Thandir merely snorted. "Yrch, or I’m a dwarf."

Eluwen sighed, rubbing a hand across her eyes. "They must have thought that since this passage went up it would lead to the surface. They should have followed their noses, instead."

Thandir shrugged resignedly. "They’re young and have had no experience traveling underground. When we get back to Imladris, I will suggest to Lord Elrond that perhaps that aspect of their education might have been inadvertently neglected in favor of other pursuits."

Eluwen gave her beloved a wry look. "My, we are the diplomat today, aren’t we?"

Her beloved smiled and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Let’s see if we can catch up with the twins."

"How are we going to explain our presence to them when we do?"

"I’m sure you’ll think of something."

"I’ll think of something?" Eluwen asked in disbelief. "If I’m not mistaken, meleth, you’re the leader of this expedition. I believe coming up with excuses is your department."

"Normally, it would be, but as leader I’m delegating the task to you," Thandir rejoined, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

Eluwen muttered something under her breath, but Thandir heard it anyway and laughed, taking his wife in his arms and giving her a long and delightful kiss before releasing her, much to her disappointment. "Come, we need to find the twins. Time enough to think up excuses later."

With that, they began following the footprints, hoping there would be no encounters with goblins along the way.

****

They stared at the churned ground around them. Thandir was kneeling in the dust, examining the prints closely. Eluwen was crouched somewhat to one side, examining a darkish spot on a rock.

"There’s blood here, Thandir," she said, dipping her fingers in the wet and taking a cautious lick. "Elf blood to be exact."

Thandir grimaced, not liking the conclusions to which he was coming. "It’s difficult to know how long ago the attack was, but I would guess not more than an hour or two. It looks as if they were attacked from two sides."

He stood up and moved back along their trail. "See, one group of goblins came from behind, apparently emerging from this crevasse here." He thrust his torch into a gaping hole, small and narrow and most likely ignored or unnoticed by the twins, but wide enough for goblins to squeeze through.

"Another band came down this passage over there." He thrust the torch to the right. The side passage came down to meet the main one.

"They don’t go back the same way, though," Eluwen pointed out. "They continue down this passage."

Thandir nodded, his eyes cold in the torchlight, cold and grim, with a fey light flickering in their depths. Eluwen knew that look. She shivered slightly, remembering that her beloved was a Noldo who had fought against Morgoth’s hoards during the First Age. For all that he had quickly adopted Sindarin and Silvan ways when he came to Middle-earth in Fingolfin’s company, he was still one of the Lechenn, one of the deep-elves, with an implacable hatred of the Enemy’s minions. Thandir had stood under the Light of the Two Trees and that heritage was reflected in his eyes.

She, on the other hand, was pure Sinda and had not been born until after the War of Wrath. Her parents left Lindon to follow Oropher eastward and for a time she grew up in Eryn Galen. When Gil-galad called for the Last Alliance, she had joined the troops led by Oropher. On the Battle Plain before the Black Gates, she had met Thandir, fighting under Elrond’s flag. In spite of all the horror and pain and death surrounding them, they had fallen in love. After the war she forsook Eryn Galen for Imladris, much to her parents’ dismay, but she had never had any regrets.

"Come," Thandir said, his voice as grim as his looks. "We’re wasting time."

Eluwen instinctively took his hand and her husband did not deny her. Together they walked down the passage, following the prints that would hopefully lead them to their missing charges.

****

They had been following the goblin prints for some time. At one point the prints veered to the left where a set of stairs spiraled down into the nether depths. The scouts viewed them with surprise and dismay but did not hesitate to descend them. At the bottom the space opened up. To the wonder of the elves they found themselves in a large chamber. Carven pillars supported the roof high above them and the floor was free of dust though the chamber appeared to be empty and they could not guess at its purpose, if it even had one. Across the way from them was an actual door made of thick oak. When they tried it though it did not move and they suspected it was barred from the other side. However, they soon discovered another opening in the wall to the right of the door, a gaping hole that had obviously been made by goblins. An irregularly shaped passage could be seen in the flickering torchlight behind the tumble of fallen rocks surrounding the breach. The scouts had no doubt where the goblins had gone.

They entered the passage but no sooner had they done so when Thandir put a hand out in warning and stopped.

"Listen!"

Both elves strained their hearing. Eluwen moved back into the chamber and went to the door, placing her ear against the wood.

"Footsteps. Lots of them," Eluwen whispered to Thandir, who had followed her. "And heading our way."

The ellon copied the elleth and listened at the door. "Dwarves by the sound of it. It’s too regular and heavy for goblins."

"Do they come here, do you think?" Eluwen asked but Thandir shook his head, having no answer.

He motioned Eluwen back towards the goblin-breached hole. They moved up the passage a bit to where it zig-zagged, providing them with some cover. They doused their torches and strung their bows in the dark with practiced ease, placing arrows at the ready, then waited.

They did not have long to wait. The tread of the steps stopped and they heard something heavy being moved. Then, the door was thrust open with a boom as it crashed against the wall and the darkness was brightened into a reddish glow as several dwarves entered the chamber carrying torches. It took only a minute for the elves to realize that the dwarves were heading their way and that there was no place to hide.

In the dim glow of the approaching torchlight, Thandir whispered just loudly enough for Eluwen to hear without setting off echos.

"Stand at the ready, love, but don’t shoot anybody. We are, after all, the intruders, not they."

Eluwen allowed herself a small snort but otherwise made no other sound.

The passage was too narrow at this juncture for any more than one person at a time to pass through, though further on it did widen considerably, so the elves could have defended themselves had they the need, at least until they had run out of arrows. Thandir hoped that they wouldn’t have to fight at all and that they might be able to solicit the aid of the dwarves in rescuing the twins.

The first dwarf came nearly abreast of them before he saw the two elves with their arrows aimed at him.

"Mahal!" The dwarf raised his axe, stopping suddenly, bringing the company behind him to a halt. There was a murmur of confusion among the dwarves that was quickly stilled.

Thandir lowered his bow and Eluwen did the same. "Peace, friend. We mean you no harm. I am Thandir, a scout from Imladris. This is Eluwen."

The dwarf continued staring at the elves for a moment before replying, his tone suspicious "What do you here, Elf, sneaking through our kingdom?"

Thandir smiled, refusing to take the bait. "It’s rather difficult to sneak about with the only door barred from the other side, friend. My companion and I are hunting a band of goblins who have taken two of our people prisoners. We followed them here. At first, when we heard your approach we thought you might be goblins as well."

A lie, of course, yet he would say or do anything to solicit the dwarves’ help in rescuing Elladan and Elrohir. Already a plan was formulating in his mind that would allow the twins to be saved without involving the two scouts.

"Prisoners?" The dwarf asked, sounding less suspicious.

Thandir nodded. "Yes. They were taken not too far from here. We’ve been following them but have had no luck in catching them before they returned to their lair. We fear for the safety of our friends."

The dwarf nodded in understanding then turned his back on the elves to discuss the matter with his companions. They spoke in low tones, though the elves could hear them easily enough, but otherwise the dwarves’ words were incomprehensible to them, for they were speaking in their own tongue.

Finally the lead dwarf turned to the elves. "I am Lóni son of Lofar at your service. My lord Búri has sent us to clean out this nest of goblins from these mountains."

"Surely the halls of Khazad-dûm do not extend this far north?" Eluwen inqired, for she knew that Hadhadlond lay many leagues to the south.

"And your king is named Regin, is it not? Who is Búri?" Thandir asked.

Lóni decided to answer Thandir first. "You are correct, Elf. Uzbad Búri is the leader of this settlement. We are an outlier of Khazad-dûm, called Azaghâl-dûm, after its first lord who died at the Dagorlad."

Eluwen looked surprised, for though she had been there, she did not recall seeing any dwarves fighting before the Black Gate, but Thandir nodded his head.

"Brave was Azaghâl Aurvangul. Many an orc he slew, saving the life of my lord Elrond, though he himself died for all that my lord sought to heal him of his wounds."

The dwarves looked at the elf with grave respect.

"You knew Lord Azaghâl?" Lóni asked, his eyes widening.

Thandir smiled, though it was tinged with sadness. "Indeed. Many a night we sat round the fire trading tales and tankards. He was always intent on seeing me drunk, but he usually was in a stupor long before I felt any effects of the gut-rot he called beer."

Lóni laughed and the other dwarves echoed him. "Well said, my lord. Well said. Now, tell us of these goblins, for we too are hunting them."

"First, let us return to yon chamber where we may speak at ease," Thandir suggested, and the dwarves agreed.

Soon, they were all seated in the middle of the room. Thandir spoke first.

"We came down these stairs here, which are clearly dwarf-made, yet the upper chambers are untouched and there is a shaft that appears to have been made by goblins leading to the upper world."

Lóni nodded, stroking his neatly braided auburn beard. "We built the stairs and began exploring the passages and chambers above when we found signs that goblins still haunted the upper reaches. We think that shaft was meant as a trap for the unwary who would have no way to climb out and would wander lost or simply die in that chamber." The dwarf smiled evilly. "An easy way to catch one’s dinner, don’t you think?"

Eluwen fought not to shiver at the thought and wondered how the twins fared.

Lóni continued. "When we discovered this, our lord decided to bar the door to this chamber until we could muster enough warriors to scour the upper reaches of these spawn of Nargûn. Before we could, though, we discovered they had broken through over there, though why they didn’t just use these stairs we do not know."

"Perhaps they were unaware they existed," Eluwen offered, not entirely convinced herself. Who could understand the ways of goblins, anyway?

Lóni did not answer, but looked pointedly at Thandir. "And now, my lord..."

Thandir raised a hand, stopping the dwarf in mid-sentence. "We were above, looking for two of our own who had the misfortune of getting between a mother bear and her cub."

The dwarves all blinked at that and one or two shook their heads, but whether in sympathy or disgust at the stupidity of elves, Thandir was not willing to guess.

"We were behind them but could not see what was happening for a rise in the land stood between us. When we came upon the scene our friends were nowhere in sight. We later discovered the shaft you mentioned and realized they must have fallen through in their haste to, er, depart."

Some of the dwarves smiled at that but sobered at Thandir’s next words. "We need your help in rescuing our friends, for we are not allowed to rescue them ourselves."

"What?" Lóni cried. "What mischief is this? Speak plainly, Elf."

Thandir sighed and glanced at Eluwen who merely raised a delicate eyebrow at her mate, more than willing to let him take the lead. Thandir turned back to the dwarves. "We are under orders not to interfere with anything that happens to our friends unless at direst need, for they are not to know we are here."

"Why?" a dwarf with sandy hair and beard asked. He appeared somewhat younger than most of the other dwarves, though it was difficult for immortals to guess at the ages of mortals.

"They are the sons of Lord Elrond of Imladris."

"Lord Elrond’s twin sons?" Lóni asked in disbelief and his expression of surprise was mirrored on the faces of the other dwarves.

"Yes. Elladan and Elrohir asked permission of their sire to travel across the Hithaeglir by themselves, but unbeknown to them, my companion and I were asked to follow them and ensure their safety, but not to let them know we were there. The twins are only a few decades past their majority, still quite young by the reckoning of our people."

"Ah," said the sandy-haired dwarf, smiling knowingly. "My father thought I was not mature enough to join this company, but when I insisted, he set my older cousin to watch over me, for all that I am nearly a hundred years old. The sons of Lord Elrond have my sincerest sympathy."

Lóni snorted and rolled his eyes as the other dwarves chuckled. "You are Uzbad Búri’s only heir, Brunir. He has a right to be concerned for your safety. Now, enough. We need to discuss how best to free Lord Elrond’s sons from those maggots." He turned back to the elves. "Have you a plan, Friend Thandir?"

Thandir nodded, hiding a smile. "Yes, though it is not without its risks. Here is what I think we should do...."

****

Elladan hurt.

He was lying in a hole somewhere near the goblin’s den. His body ached in ways he never knew it could. The ropes binding his extremities were tight, and he feared that circulation would be impeded enough for necrosis to set in. He remembered his Daernaneth telling him about Maedhros and shivered in spite of himself.

He tried to remember what had happened after he and Elrohir were set upon, but memories were slow to come and he feared, or perhaps hoped, some of them would never come at all. He could not see, though his eyes were open. He wasn’t blind, for he had noticed torchlight passing above him sometime earlier but now all lay in utter darkness. In the brief second of the passing light he had taken stock of his surroundings, hoping to see Elrohir lying nearby, but his brother was not there.

He was alone. And he was afraid.

He tried shifting his weight a bit in an attempt to ease his bonds somewhat, but the slightest movement set his head spinning. Concussion, he thought, and could suddenly hear his adar lecturing him and Elrohir on head injuries.

"Too bad adar didn’t see fit to lecture us on how to escape from a goblin hole," he muttered to himself and to his horror found himself giggling and fought to suppress it.

Shock. He must be in shock. He leaned back against the cold wall, closed his eyes and tried to sense his brother through their twin-bond, but the pain was too overwhelming for him to concentrate and he gave up, letting out a long breath he hadn’t known he was holding. The pain and fear transmuted into something akin to despair and he found himself weeping. This time he didn’t try to suppress it, but allowed the tears to flow freely.

Eventually, he fell asleep.

****

It was the sounds of screaming that woke him. He stared about him in confusion at first, but then looked up to where he could dimly see torchlight and shadows. Someone screamed again.

"Elrohir!" He struggled in his bonds, but all he managed to do was to fall on his face. He tried to yell his brother’s name again, but he couldn’t find the breath for it and the helplessness he felt sent him further into despair.

At some point he realized he was no longer hearing the screams and he wondered if his brother was dead and if he was next. Curiously, the thought did not frighten him overmuch. It would be a relief to be with his twin again even if it were in the Halls of Mandos. His only regret was that his adar and naneth would never know what had happened to them.

As these dark thoughts roiled within his mind, he felt, rather than heard, movement above him. He tensed at the thought that the goblins had come for him now, when he heard a gruff voice call out.

"Mahal! Here’s another elfling, Lord Brunir."

"Well, Thekki," came an amused voice, "don’t just stand there dithering like a virgin on her wedding night, get down there and haul him up. We don’t want these elves to think we’re lacking in common courtesy, do we?"

There was the sound of chuckling even as someone threw down a rope and began climbing down. Elladan attempted to sit up, his mind reeling. Naugrim! What were the naugrim doing here? The dwarf reached the floor of the dungeon and moved over to the elf to free him, but Elladan’s only thoughts were on his brother.

"Elrohir! My brother!" he cried, speaking in Westron. "Where’s my brother?"

"Na-voe, mellon. Thiag naud sui carpholch thêl ’nin naurdhath. Muindor gîn mae," came the unexpected reply.

Sindarin? What was a dwarf doing speaking Sindarin, and fluent Sindarin at that? 

"Wh...who are you?" Elladan asked in the same language.

The dwarf chuckled even as he took a knife and began sawing on the ropes binding the elf. "I am Thekki son of Thrisk at your service, young elf-lord. You and your brother are fortunate that we came when we did, for I fear you would not have lived out the night."

"How did you know we were here?"

"Well, now. In truth, we did not. My lord ordered us to be rid of the uain thaur o Nargûn that still infested these caverns. We had no idea that you would be here."

The bonds were cut but Elladan could not feel anything, and indeed found himself unable to move. When Thekki attempted to help him up the pain in his limbs forced a scream from him.

"Hsst. I think you had best remain where you are for the nonce, elfling." Thekki carefully eased Elladan to the floor then looked up to where other dwarves awaited and called up. "He’s lost circulation and will be incapacitated for a bit. Throw down some blankets that I may keep him warm and perhaps some hot broth would not be amiss, for it will help strengthen him."

"Can we not fashion a halter to bring him up?" Elladan heard someone ask and the thought of being hauled up like a sack of potatoes made him blush, though there were none to see.

Thekki, however, was shaking his head. "Nay, best to wait a bit until feeling returns to his limbs. It will make the climb easier. How fares the other elfling?"

Before anyone could reply, Elladan cried out. "Elrohir! Where’s Elrohir?" he pleaded, almost despairingly, for he did not quite believe the dwarf’s words that his brother was well.

"Sîdh, mellon," Thekki replied, coming over to squat in front of the elf, rubbing Elladan’s wrists in an attempt to speed up recovery. "Your brother is well, as I have said. He was found in another hole not far from here and is unharmed."

Elladan sagged against the wall in relief, tears suddenly forming. He tried to stop them, not wishing the dwarf to see him weeping like a child, but he could not and hot shame flooded him as his body shuddered with sobs. Then he felt Thekki move his position to sit beside him and wrap his brawny arms around the lithe frame of the elf, holding him until the sobbing slowed.

"Hsst, now, elfling. All is well. We’ll be having you and your brother reunited soon enough. Then you will be a guest of my lord Búri and will tell us your tale. Come, now, let us see if you can stand yet."

There was more feeling in his limbs now, painful, yet reassuring in the pain, but he still could not stand. A voice called down from above and soon a couple of blankets and a flask were being sent down. Thekki wrapped the blankets about the young elf and held the flask to his lips.

"Here, drink this. It should help."

And it did. Soon the warmth of the broth spread throughout his body and he felt immensely better, enough so that a quarter of an hour later, when he tried standing again, he found that he could, though he needed Thekki’s support. Still it was a good sign. His hands still felt numb and Thekki at last decided that a halter would be the best means of getting the elf out of the hole after all. Elladan reluctantly agreed, sighing in the put upon way of all youth. Thekki found himself hiding a smile, suddenly reminded of how his own son, when younger, used to act. The elven scouts had been correct — this one was still young in many ways.

It took only minutes for the dwarves to haul Elladan up and, to the young elf’s delight, he found Elrohir waiting for him.

The twins embraced one another wordlessly, each running hands and eyes over the other to ascertain his health. The dwarves standing around looked upon them indulgently until Thekki cleared his throat.

"As much as I hate to break up this warm reunion among kin, I think we should remove ourselves from these caverns. Do you not agree, Lord Brunir?" Elladan saw Thekki turn with a short bow towards a sandy-haired dwarf, who smiled.

"Oh, indeed, Thekki. My very thoughts." Brunir turned to look about and motioned towards an older dwarf with a reddish-brown beard who was just approaching their group from further up the cavern. Elladan noticed the look of satisfacation on the dwarf’s face. "Uncle, have we cleaned this nest of vipers out?"

Lóni nodded, hefting his battle axe easily. "Yes we have, Nephew. Your sire will be pleased at how well you have handled yourself in the fray."

"Hmrph. Considering what little you allowed me to do, Uncle, I doubt it will impress him."

Lóni merely snorted, but the other dwarves standing around them laughed. The elves, having heard the conversation, though not understanding its meaning, merely shrugged at each other. Thekki took Elladan’s hand.

"Come, elflings. We will take you to our home and see to your hurts and you can tell us how you came to such straits as these."

"We’re not elflings, friend Thekki," Elladan said with some dignity and Elrohir nodded, though he did not speak.

Thekki laughed, giving the two elves an abbreviated bow that was nevertheless respectful. "Perhaps not, my lord. Come, we will take it as slowly as needed until you have regained your circulation and strength."

With that the band of dwarves set out with the two elves in their midst. Thekki was making introductions as they walked, keeping the twins busy trying to remember everyone’s name. Neither noticed two of the dwarves hanging back. As Thekki and the others led the twins away, two lithe shadows disengaged themselves from a dark corner of the cave.

"Well, we’ve rescued your lost cubs, friend Thandir," Lóni said without looking up.

"And for that, you have the undying gratitude of the Lord of Imladris and myself." Thandir gave the two dwarves a bow and Eluwen followed suit. Then the elves melted away into the shadows once more.

Brunir and Lóni were left to ponder just how long "undying" truly was as they rejoined their companions back to Azaghâl-dûm.

****

Anno dulu enni!: "Rescue me!" Literally, "Give support/aid to me"; dulu is lenited from tulu since it is the object of the verb anno.

Sîdh, muindor nîn: Peace, my brother.

Elleth: Female elf.

Yrch: Plural of orch: orc.

Lechenn: Plural of Lachenn, "deep elf"; a Sindarin name for the Ñoldor.

Mahal: Khuzdul name for the Vala Aulë.

Hadhadrond: Sindarin name for Khazad-dûm at this time. The dwarf kingdom will not fall to the Balrog and be renamed Moria for another 1,765 years.

Uzbad: (Khuzdul) Lord.

Nargûn: (Khuzdul) Mordor.

Na-voe, mellon. Thiag naud sui carpholch thêl nin naurdhath. Muindor gîn mae: "Softly, friend. You appear bound like a boar intended for the firepit. Your brother is well". Thekki uses the 2^nd person familiar form here, not as an insult, but because he is forty years older than Elladan and in his eyes would see Elladan as a child, whatever his race.

Uain thaur o Nargûn: Abhorrant monsters from Mordor.

Notes on Dwarf names:

Most of the names of the dwarves in this story have been taken from the Dvertagal, the same list of dwarf names used by Tolkien. That list can now be found on the website called Glaemscrafu, or Tolkien’s Linguistic Cellar. You can access it through http://www.jrrvf.com. This website is in French, but you will find the link to Glaemscrafu under Partenaire (look under Menu in the lefthand sidebar). You can then click on the British flag icon to access the English version.

At the time of this story, T.A. 251, Regin son of Nár is king of Khazad-dûm. The list of dwarf kings of Khazad-dûm found in Appendix A which Gimli provided only goes back to the middle of the Third Age when Durin VI (†1980) is king.

Azaghâl was the name of a lord of the dwarves of Belegost during the First Age (The Silmarillion, chapter 20).

IV: In the Thamas of the Mountain King

Neither Elladan nor Elrohir paid much attention to their route. Both elves were too weak from lack of food and water to care much. They only knew that they had been saved by the most unlikely band of rescuers imaginable. They were still somewhat in shock at how very close to dying they had come. They walked for some time through twisting passages that were confusing to the elves, though the dwarves apparently had no trouble remembering their route.

It was only when Elrohir stumbled with a gasp that Elladan realized that his brother might have suffered more from their captors than he and called for a halt. He grabbed his brother just before Elrohir slid gracelessly to the floor, clutching his right side and moaning. It was then that he noticed his brother’s tunic was shredded on that side. Probing further he found a deep gash that was now mostly crusted over but still oozing blood here and there.

"My brother needs attention. He is wounded," Elladan cried out in Westron and cursed himself for not noticing Elrohir’s pain before this.

"Why didn’t you say something?" he whispered, switching back to Sindarin, even as he tore a length of cloth from his already shredded tunic and tried to staunch the bloodflow.

"I didn’t want to be a nuisance," came the reply and Elladan didn’t know if he wanted to strangle his brother right then or there or hug him. He settled for accepting the waterskin that had suddenly appeared at his elbow and found Thekki looking at them with remorse.

"Goheno nin, mellyn nîn. I am sorry we have not seen to your needs before this, but we felt it prudent to return to our halls first. Drink and be refreshed. We do not have far to go. Once in Azaghâl-dûm your hurts will be seen to."

Elladan nodded and said, "We thank you, Thekki son of Thrisk. My brother and I are grateful for your assistance."

The dwarf merely nodded, though there was a twinkle in his eyes that neither elf could interpret. Once Elladan had bound the gash as best he could and Elrohir indicated he was ready to go on, they continued. Elrohir’s face was white with fatigue and pain, but with Elladan’s assistance he was able to stay on his feet. Thekki’s estimate had been correct and in less than a quarter of an hour they were entering the dwarf-made chamber.

"Anglennanc in ennyn Azaghâl-dûm," Thekki said. The twins wondered at Thekki’s command of the Elvish language but were not in a position to enquire further.

Actually it was just a single door, Elrohir noticed dimly, but that didn’t matter. Two dwarves stood before the thick oak door, weapons at the ready. When they saw who approached one of them quickly opened the door and so they passed into the dwarf-carven caverns of Azaghâl-dûm. The elves found themselves walking along straight passages the walls of which were richly carved, but nonetheless had an unfinished look to them. Thekki, speaking Westron for the benefit of his fellow dwarves, gave the twins a brief history of the settlement.

"We are originally from Khazad-dûm, but those halls were beginning to become overcrowded, so other settlements have been established along the length of the Misty Mountains. We are purposely keeping them small and we are more like colonies of Khazad-dûm than separate kingdoms."

He went on to explain that Azaghâl-dûm was still being built, having only been founded a decade before the Last Alliance.

"The first lord was Azaghâl son of Aurvang, after whom this settlement was named. He went to the Dagorlad where he died protecting an Elf-lord."

"Do you know who this Elf-lord was?" Elladan asked, wondering if it was someone they knew, or at least, knew of.

"Hmm. Let me think," Thekki stroked his beard as if deep in thought. "Methinks the name was something like Elroth or Elmond or...."

"You mean Elrond?" Elrohir interrupted excitedly. "Was the Elf-lord’s name Elrond?"

Thekki made a show of snapping his fingers. "Ah, yes. That’s the name... Elrond. Have you heard of him?"

"H-he’s our adar," Elladan gasped and looked wonderingly at Elrohir, whose expression was just as amazed.

Thekki stopped and with him the others. A smile creased his face which was reflected in the expressions of the other dwarves. "You don’t say? Then you must be..."

"I’m Elladan and this is my brother, Elrohir."

To the elves’ surprise, Thekki, Lóni and Brunir all bowed. "We are honored to know the sons of Elrond," Brunir said in formal tones. "And we are glad that we are able to repay a longstanding debt."

"Debt?" Elrohir asked, perplexed.

Brunir nodded. "All in good time, young elf-lords. First let us take you to where you may have your wounds tended. Later, I will take you to my father and you will hear the entire story."

So saying, the dwarves continued on and soon they reached the more habitable parts of the colony, having found a broad stair leading down to the next level. The two elves stared unabashedly at their surroundings, amazed at the beauty of the carvings gracing the pillars that held up the roofs of the caverns through which they passed, pleased at the feeling of openness and light that made them forget, momentarily, that they were inside a mountain.

Most of the dwarves left them at one juncture while Thekki, Lóni and Brunir led them into a small chamber. There were two cots with a small table between. There was also a wash stand and a clothes press that could, at need, serve as a seat. Braided rugs graced the tiled floors. The cots, Elladan noticed with some amusement, were somewhat on the short side.

"Here you may rest," Brunir said. "I will send for hot water and the means to bathe as well as one of our healers to see to your wounds. Give your clothes to Thekki, here, and he will have them cleaned and mended for you. I fear we have no clothing suitable for elves but we will see what we may do."

Elladan bowed to the dwarf. "We are grateful for anything you can do for us. I fear all our belongings were taken by the goblins. Even our weapons. You did not perchance come across our swords when you were fighting the goblins did you?"

Lóni shook his head. "Nay, Lord Elladan, we did not. Nor, truth to tell, were we looking for them, for we did not know you were captives until we began hunting down the goblins fleeing from us."

The twins sighed, almost as one, much to the dwarves’ amusement, but made no other comment.

"I will go now," Brunir said with a short bow and the other two dwarves followed him out of the chamber.

Left alone, the twins sat, one on each cot, staring at each other in bemusement. Finally Elladan aroused himself. "Take off your shirt, Brother, and let me see what damage has been done to you."

Elrohir nodded and started to comply but a hiss of pain forced him to stop. Elladan was by his side immediately.

"Hmm. The cloth of your shirt where it was torn has embedded itself into your wound. We will have to clean the wound first before we can remove your shirt. Ah, if I’m not mistaken, I believe someone is even now coming with water."

And so it proved. Thekki, himself, along with several other dwarves, entered their chamber. One of them was carrying bandages and salves and other medical supplies, while others lugged two metal tubs and set them in a space next to the washstand where hot water was being poured into the basin. Towels and other bathing paraphernalia were set on the clothes press.

"Hot water for bathing is being brought," Thekki explained and then introduced the dwarf carrying the medical supplies. "This is Frár, our healer."

Frár bowed. He was shorter than Thekki by a few inches, and his hair and carefully braided beard were a darker auburn. "I fear what aid I can give is little enough. Lord Elrond’s fame as a healer is known to all. No doubt, his sons are also far better healers than I."

"That may be true, Frár," Elladan said with a smile, "but my brother and I would never disparage the aid freely given to us by others. Adar taught us that."

Elladan then showed Frár and Thekki how Elrohir’s clothing was stuck to his wound and the dwarf healer tssked. "We will have to irrigate the wound and make sure no threads remain to bring infection." He went to the basin and poured hot water into it before returning to the cot where he bade Elrohir to lie on his side. If his brother wasn’t in such pain from his wound Elladan would have laughed at the sight of his twin lying on the too-short cot, his legs hanging off the edge.

Thekki, however, grinned in amusement. "I will see to having mattresses made for Men brought here, my lords, so you may sleep in comfort."

"You trade with Men?" Elrohir asked in an attempt to ignore what Frár and Elladan were doing.

Thekki nodded. "Men and Elves. We trade with the Rhúnedain of Rhovanion as well as with Lórien and Ardh Eryndor."

"That’s how you speak Sindarin," Elrohir exclaimed.

Thekki nodded. "There is at least one person in each of our settlements who speaks either Sindarin or Rhûnaic that we may trade on an even basis with our neighbors."

Thekki continued describing the various dwarf settlements and their relations with the Elves and Men of Rhovanion, for which Elladan was grateful, as it kept his brother’s mind on other than the slow, and sometimes painful, task of removing blood-encrusted fibers from the raw gash that he now could see began just below the right breast, extending to the hip. It was deep, but it was already healing. Removing the fibers, though, had forced them to reopen parts of the gash and blood was flowing from it. In spite of that, Elladan did not think stitching would be required and told Frár so. The dwarf healer looked unconvinced, but did not contradict the elf.

Meanwhile, the bathing tubs were being filled with hot water. As soon as Elrohir’s wound was free of fibers and cleaned, the elf insisted that he be allowed to bathe before they did anything else to him.

"I want to be cleansed of this goblin filth once and for all."

Frár wasn’t happy about it, but made no attempt to stop the young elf from having his way. The dwarves left them with their privacy, promising to return with food and clean clothing.

"I may be able to scrounge up some clothes left behind by some Men with whom we were trading," Thekki said.

"I will return to finish my work," Frár added with a put-upon expression and both twins smiled, suddenly reminded of their father.

Elladan helped his twin divest himself of the rest of his clothes and aided him in getting into the tub before getting into the other. Both elves sighed with relief, though the water stung their wounds. Elrohir fought not to grimace with the pain and after a few moments was able to relax. They did not linger, but quickly scrubbed away the grime of travel and imprisonment, washing their hair using the clean-smelling soap provided by the dwarves. They noted with approval that the soap was scented with lovage, rosemary and lavender, all designed to aid in cleansing and healing the body and bringing surcease to the soul.

Soon they were dried, wrapping the large towels about them, sitting together on one of the cots, helping each other with their hair. It was not long after that Thekki and Frár appeared again. Thekki carried a bundle of clothes in his arms while Frár carried a steaming bowl from which wafted an astringent smell that was familiar to the elves. Two other dwarves carried trays from which more enticing smells emanated.

Thekki spoke first. "These are clothes left behind by some Men that might fit you well enough." He placed them on the other cot.

"And this is a poultice for your wound, Lord Elrohir. It should aid in the healing."

"And, here is something to eat," Thekki finished, directing the dwarves to place the food trays on the clothes press and to remove the bathtubs.

One of the dwarves bent down beside one of the tubs and attached a tube of intestine to its side where a hinged flap lifted revealing a short pipe. The other end of the tube was then laid near an open drain in the floor next to the washstand. Then one of the dwarves reached into the tub to remove a plug. At once the water flowed through the tube to the open drain and soon the tub was empty enough to be lifted. When both tubs had been so drained, the dwarves took them along with the rest of the bathing things, leaving the elves alone with Thekki and Frár.

"Let me see to that gash, Lord Elrohir," the healer said and Elrohir allowed himself to be ministered to.

Elladan, meanwhile, was examining the clothing Thekki had brought. There were two robes and loose shirts as well as breeches. All were clean but none were what either elf would prefer to wear, but this was no time to be fastidious. Elladan thanked Thekki and donned a pair of breeches and a shirt, both somewhat ill fitting but serviceable. When Frár was finished wrapping the gash, Elrohir donned another pair of breeches but chose one of the robes to slip on, for it was easier than trying to put on a shirt. Their own clothes were placed in a hamper provided for such with the promise that they would be cleaned and mended, though Elladan doubted either of their tunics would be salvageable.

"Eat now before the food cools," Thekki implored and neither elf needed further urging. While they were eating more dwarves entered with large feather mattresses which they placed on the floor, removing one of the cots, as the other was being used as a seat by the elves.

"Lord Búri wishes to speak with you once you have rested," Thekki told them as they ate. "We are in the Fourth Hall of the South-end of the Third Rise and must go down three levels to the Throne room. The way is winding and it will take us close to nearly three hours to traverse it."

"Then we will rest as we may," Elladan said, "for in truth I am weary as I have never thought to be."

"As am I," agreed Elrohir.

"Then rest for as long as you need to. There is no rush," Frár said. And after explaining where the nearest privy was and making sure their guests had everything they needed, the two dwarves bowed and left.

When they had finished eating the elves decided to use the privy before lying down. The corridor outside their room was empty. Shortly thereafter they returned to their room. Elrohir had some trouble getting comfortable because of his wound, so Elladan offered to send him into healing sleep, to which Elrohir reluctantly agreed. Once he had seen to his twin, Elladan lay down on the other mattress and was soon entering the path of dreams.

After the elves had returned from the privy and retired, two grim-faced dwarves moved out of the shadows from further down the corridor and took positions before the door, their axes planted firmly before them.

****

"Well, Friend Thandir, Mistress Eluwen, I see your charges are being well taken care of," Lord Búri said as he eyed his unexpected guests sitting next to him. Búri stroked his beard, a darker shade of brown than his son’s, only just beginning to turn grey. His warm hazel-brown eyes twinkled with amusement.

When his son Brunir had returned with Thekki and Lóni from their foray into the nest of vipers plaguing the upper reaches of what he considered his kingdom he had never in his wildest dreams expected them to return with two elven scouts in tow. Not to mention the twin sons of Lord Elrond of Imladris. That bit of news had nearly stunned him to speechlessness, though he thought he had recovered from his surprise quickly enough.

Now, the two scouts had joined him for a latenight meal in Búri’s private chambers. Brunir, Thekki and Lóni, as well as the healer, Frár, were all there as well.

"For which we are very grateful, my lord," replied Thandir, giving the Dwarf-lord a brief bow. "I am very relieved to hear that my lord’s sons have suffered so little from their captivity, though it grieves me that Lord Elrohir was wounded as he was."

"Do not fear for the young lordling, friend Thandir," Frár said from further down the table, "Lord Elladan and I were able to cleanse the wound. I believe that with the poultice I prepared for Lord Elrohir he will be quite well by morning."

"Thank you, friend Frár. Your words comfort me." He did not feel it would be politic to point out that elves healed more quickly than mortals, even dwarves, and that it was unlikely Frár’s poultice was even needed. Best to allow the healer to think his medicks sufficient to the task.

"So, then, tell us what chance brought you here to Azaghâl-dûm," Búri asked, "and how may we serve you?"

The two elves shared a look between them before Thandir responded. "It started when young Elrohir thought it would be a good idea for him and his brother to travel overmountain to Lórien on their own..."

By the time Thandir had reached the part about the bear cub, the dwarves were laughing uproariously.

"Young indeed!" exclaimed Búri, wiping tears of laughter from his face. "Reminds me of you Brunir, when you were just a dwarfling."

"But I was never so foolish as to play with a bear cub," protested the younger dwarf, wiping his own eyes of tears.

"Perhaps not, my son," Búri allowed with a smile, "but I can think of one or two instances where you displayed remarkable stupidity in your younger years... deciding to run away to see your cousins in Belegost, for instance."

The elves were amused at the way Brunir reddened at his father’s words and smiled while the older dwarves chuckled, obviously well aware of the outcome of that particular tale.

"The very young are often foolish, my lord," Eluwen said. "It is why we are here, to see to it that the Elrondionnath do not suffer too much from their own brand of foolishness."

"Yet, how did you manage not to be seen by Elrond’s sons? You had to have traveled together back to Azaghâl-dûm, did you not?"

"Nay, father," Brunir replied. "I had Ginnar escort Friend Thandir and Mistress Eluwen by the most direct route while I and the others gave Lords Elladan and Elrohir the, er, scenic tour of the upper reaches."

They all laughed at that and Thandir picked up the tale.

"Ginnar led us to a room across the hall from where the twins were brought so we could see for ourselves that they were well. While your people were tending to our charges, we took the opportunity to freshen up ourselves before your son brought us to you."

Búri nodded. "What aid then should we offer them?"

Thandir shook his head. "Whatever aid you see fit to offer, my lord. The twins are not to know that their ‘rescue’ was anything but pure chance. I will inform Lord Elrond of the truth when we return to Imladris, but otherwise, you may provide what you wish." Thandir chuckled at a sudden thought and grinned slyly. "You may even escort them to the very borders of Lórien if you so wish, though I suspect the twins will want to decline your kind offer."

The dwarves all laughed aloud at that and the rest of the meal was spent in coming up with ways to "help" the sons of Elrond without them suspecting where the aid actually originated.

****

Elladan was the first to rouse, feeling slightly disoriented at the carved ceiling above him. Memory quickly returned and he sat up to examine his brother who still slept and would not awaken for some time unless Elladan brought him out of the healing sleep. He carefully unwrapped the bandages around his brother and upon removing the poultice was pleased to see healing pink skin. He doubted that there would be any scarring. He stroked Elrohir’s face and called to him softly, willing him to awaken. Elrohir gave a soft sigh and opened his eyes, focusing them on his brother smiling down at him.

"Good morning, muindor nîn," Elladan said. "Or at least, I am assuming it’s morning. Hard to tell inside a mountain."

Elrohir sat up, noticing the poultice had been removed and quickly examined his wound. He smiled at his brother. "Morning or night, it matters not. It’s good to no longer be in pain."

Elladan was about to respond when there was a knock on the door. He rose and opened it. Thekki and Frár stood before him and he bowed them into the room.

"Good morning to you both," Thekki said. "For it is indeed morning, though you know it not. I trust you slept well?"

"Indeed we did," Elladan answered. "I was just examining Elrohir’s wound. It appears to be well on its way to being healed."

Frár bowed to Elrohir. "If I may be allowed..."

"Of course, healer," Elrohir said graciously and rose from the mattress to sit on the cot so Frár could examine him.

The examination was quick but thorough and Frár was well pleased, though somewhat stunned at how rapidly the young Elf-lord had recovered from his injuries. Even the bruises and scrapes on both elves had nigh disappeared.

"I think you are well enough to travel," Frár finally said, sounding somewhat reluctant to the amusement of the two elves. They had often heard their adar and the other healers of Imladris use that same tone of voice on a patient who seemed to have recovered more quickly than the healers thought was prudent.

Thekki nodded. "Your own clothes will be returned to you shortly. I have ordered hot water for washing, and breakfast. Afterwards I will take you to my lord Búri. We will take our time. Lord Búri expects us for the noonmeal."

The two elves thanked the older dwarf and in minutes hot water and clothes appeared. The dwarves stepped outside to give the elves privacy.

"I will return shortly to escort you, my friends," Thekki said as he followed the other dwarves out.

The twins quickly washed and rebraided their hair, slipping out of the room long enough to use the privy before dressing, still unaware that they had been guarded through the night, for with the dawn the last of the guards had left.

As Elladan had suspected, their outer tunics had been too far gone to save, but their shirts and breeches had been cleaned and mended. They were surprised to see that other tunics had been placed in the pile with their own clothes.

"These must have been left by Men," Elrohir opined. The tunics fitted well enough, though they were shorter than elven tunics and their colors were not what either elf was used to wearing. "We’ll have to remove them before we set out for Lórien or we’ll stand out like sore thumbs," Elrohir continued with a sly grin.

Elladan chuckled but did not disagree. The tunics were rather... loud. His was a buttercup-yellow trimmed in shades of green and blue, while the one Elrohir donned was a deep wine color with silver trim. Not what one usually wore in the Wilds.

When they were finished dressing, they stepped out of the room to find Thekki waiting for them, and suddenly felt a bit self-conscious in their loud tunics. If Thekki noticed though, he gave no sign.

The journey through Azaghâl-dûm was an eye-opener for the young elves, never having seen the dwarf cities before. Everywhere they looked they saw intricate carvings on pillars, beautifully wrought gems and crystals that caught the sunlight streaming down shafts, sending color and light throughout the halls and even fountains in open courtyards, the water dancing gaily under the sunbeams falling from above. All along the way they saw dwarves busy with the task of making Azaghâl-dûm even more beautiful than it already was. By the time they reached the throne room, the elves were suitably impressed and even humbled by what they had seen.

But as marvelous as the halls through which they had traveled were, the throne room was even more spectacular. The elves stopped at the entrance, stunned. The throne room was the largest hall they had seen. The Hall of Fire, which was the largest gathering room in Elrond’s house, would have been swallowed up by this chamber. The floor was made of mithril and onyx in a geometric pattern that was too intricate to discern immediately. Intricately carved pillars held the roof up and Elrohir gasped as he looked up and saw how the central dome of the roof over the throne had been smoothed over with plaster and painted a dark blue. It was encrusted with various colored gems. It took a moment to realize that he was seeing the night sky as it looked at Midsummer. Elsewhere he saw half a dozen shafts that brought air and light to the chamber. Rubies, emeralds, sapphires and diamonds were englobed together in open lattices of silver and placed on pillars below the shafts, sending a rainbow of light across the hall. Other clear glass globes were hung in groups of four below the gems and the elves guessed that at night these were lit to provide illumination. The throne itself was a single block of carved onyx etched in mithril and gold sitting on a dais of three steps, also made of onyx.

With a slight nudge from Thekki, Elladan began walking, followed belatedly by Elrohir. The dwarf hid a smile as he escorted them to the throne where Búri awaited them.

"I welcome the sons of Lord Elrond to Azaghâl-dûm," he said, speaking in Sindarin as he stood before his throne to greet them in elf-fashion. Elladan and Elrohir bowed.

"We are honored to be so welcomed, Lord Búri," Elladan answered for them both. "And we are grateful for having been rescued by your warriors from certain death. We are in your debt."

Búri shook his head. "A debt already repaid. Come, let us share the noonmeal together."

He led them to a dining hall where those who had rescued them were waiting. The dwarves greeted the two young elves warmly. In minutes they were being served. The elves fell to their meal at once, for they found themselves famished. The shock of their capture was slowly fading into memory and their young bodies craved sustenance. Búri limited himself to speaking in polite generalities about the twins’ family and the state of affairs in Eriador while the twins ate, but eventually, they slowed and Búri turned the subject to their own adventures.

Elladan acted as spokesman with occasional comments from Elrohir. All the dwarves present oohed and aahed at the right moments, making a convincing show of never having heard the story before.

"I regret that we were unable to recover your weapons or supplies," Búri said when Elladan had finished his tale, "but we will be happy to supply you with what you may need to complete your journey. Perhaps you will permit me to lend you an escort to Lórien."

The twins looked at one another before Elladan answered. "We thank you for your kind offer, my lord, but my brother and I would like to complete the journey by ourselves. Yet, any assistance in food and weapons you care to give will be gratefully received."

Búri hid a smile. Neither elf noticed Thekki and Lóni sharing a wink with Frár.

"In that case, I will ask that you remain as my guests for another day. We will have a feast in your honor and then tomorrow my son will escort you to the East Gate and show you the way to Lórien. With luck you can easily reach it’s borders in a week or so."

"Where exactly are we?" Elrohir asked.

Thekki was the one who answered. "Azaghâl-dûm lies above the source of the Sîr Ninglor, some forty-three leagues as the craban flies from Lórien. The High Pass is close to thirty-three leagues north of here. From what you told us, I would guess you traveled a third of that way underground before you were attacked by the goblins. Their nest was a two-day march from here."

"It didn’t seem that long when you brought us here," commented Elladan.

"It wasn’t," agreed Lóni. "The outer boundaries of our settlement lie only a league or so from where we found you. Thekki meant that it would take two days to march from the East Gate, which is located at the Third Deep, to where the goblins were holed up, well past the Fourth Rise."

Elrohir shook his head in wonder. "I did not realize this was such a large settlement."

"And Khazad-dúm is supposed to be larger still," Elladan added in a subdued voice.

Búri smiled sympathetically. "Perhaps one day you will be able to visit the Halls of Durin and judge for yourself."

"How do we travel to Lórien from here, then?" Elladan asked, for with the loss of their pack they had also lost their only map.

Lóni answered him. "There is no road that leads directly to Lórien from here. This far north, most of our trade is with the Rhúnedain and Thranduil’s kingdom. However, the terrain is not as rugged as you would find on the western flanks of the Misty Mountains so you will have little trouble I think. I can draw you a map that will show you the best way to travel from here."

The twins thanked the warrior, glad that the dwarves were so eager to help them, though somewhat bemused by it all. They both felt that, in spite of the run-in with the goblins and their near brush with death, their journey so far had been quite successful. They had no doubt that they would be able to reach Lórien without further incident.

"Meanwhile," Lord Buri said, "I will release Thekki from his duties to me and have him give you a tour of our settlement. It is still unfinished and does not have the grandeur of Khazad-dûm but we are well pleased with it."

So, after they finished their meal, the two elves followed Thekki for the next several hours through a bewildering array of narrow tunnels, caverns both large and small and wide passages richly carved, admiring the work of the dwarves as they carved out their homes. They could never have found their way back to the Throne room if not for the dwarf.

Returning to the Throne room level Thekki showed them to a chamber not far from Lord Búri’s own apartments which turned out to be guest quarters for the Men and Elves who visited. The chamber was larger than the one they had slept in the night before and was more fully appointed with two normal sized (for elves) beds, a wardrobe and a writing desk. A bathing room and privy were attached. Entering, they found a light repast of fruit, cheese, and fresh bread awaited them, which they eagerly ate. Afterwards they rested, the tour having tired them, especially Elrohir.

As evening approached, Thekki escorted them back to the Throne room where the feast would be held. They were escorted to seats of honor on either side of Lord Búri, with his son Brunir on Elladan’s right and Lóni on Elrohir’s left. Thekki sat next to Lóni while Frár sat beside Brunir. The fare was different from what would have been served in Imladris, but was nonetheless excellent and none left the table hungry.

Elladan and Elrohir enjoyed themselves very much, the weeks of traveling and eating trail food or whatever they could hunt having palled. Afterwards, there was singing and dancing and Búri was able to convince the elves to sing a few songs themselves. The dwarves appeared highly appreciative of it, especially those who understood Sindarin.

As the evening progressed the two elves found themselves sharing a quiet cup of wine with their host and a few others. At one point Elladan spoke. "What did you mean, my lord, when you said that the debt had been repaid? What debt?"

For a time Búri did not speak, merely stared into his goblet of wine. Finally, he looked up at the elves. "Few dwarves answered the call to arms issued by Gil-galad as he and Elendil formed the Last Alliance. My grandsire, Azaghâl, was one of them. He joined with Lord Elrond’s people along with a small contingent of other like-minded dwarves. There were fewer than fifty dwarves all told. Only three survived to return to their kin."

Both elves grimaced at that, for they were well versed in the history of that last desperate attempt to rid Middle-earth of Sauron. Well they knew the futility of that attempt for they believed as did Elrond that Sauron had not been completely destroyed, though he was much diminished.

"At any rate," Búri continued, "Your father was sorely pressed at one point in the fighting and would have died then and there had not Azaghâl come to his rescue, slaying a dozen orcs and Southrons before hauling Elrond to safety. The two became fast friends after that and Elrond placed himself in Azaghâl’s debt."

Elrohir’s eyebrows went up. "Adar never spoke of that."

Elladan snorted. "Adar hasn’t spoken about a lot of things having to do with the war. Neither has Glorfindel, for that matter, nor the others who fought at the Dagorlad."

"It is difficult to speak of such horrors to one’s own children, for we seek to protect them and preserve their innocence as best we can," Búri said turning an indulgent smile towards his own son who merely sighed.

"We interrupted you, my lord," Elladan said. "Please continue."

The dwarf lord nodded, taking another sip from his goblet before continuing. "Later, Azaghâl was himself beset by the enemy and there were none nearby to succor him. Just as he was about to be hewn down by an orc, though, your sire appeared and slew the orc and several others besides. Unfortunately, my grandsire had received a mortal blow during the attack. Elrond fought to heal him but to no avail. Before he died though, he told Elrond that all debts were paid. One of the other dwarves who later survived the war stood near and heard the exchange. When he returned home, he told all that had happened to my father, Bóri, who then declared Elrond and his heirs dwarf-friends in memory of his father."

The twins looked at each other in surprise, each seeing their father in a new light. "That’s why Adar has always welcomed dwarves to Imladris, the few times they have come," Elladan finally said.

"Yes, Elrond of Imladris is widely respected by the dwarves for his friendship and for his sagacity." Brunir proclaimed.

"And we are glad to be able to meet his sons and offer them what aid we can in memory of their sire’s bravery," added his father, raising his goblet in salute before drinking. The other dwarves followed suit.

"Tomorrow, we will see you on your way," the Dwarf-lord said once the toast had been completed.

****

Thamas: (Great) hall.

Goheno nin, mellyn nîn: "Forgive me, my friends."

Anglennanc in ennyn Azaghâl-dûm: "We (inclusive) approach the doors of Azaghâl-dûm."

Rhúnedain: "People of the East". Not Easterlings (Rhûnrim), but the descendants of those distantly related to the House of Hador before that particular tribe moved westward into Beleriand. Some of the Rhúnedain would themselves become the ancestors of the Rohirrim.

Ardh Eryndor: Woodland Realm; Thranduil’s kingdom.

Rhûnaic: The language spoken by the Rhúnedain of Rhovanion. It has its roots in the language spoken by the People of Hador with whom the Rhúnedain share distant kinship and is the ancestor of Rohirric. While Tolkien never specifically mentions the existence of such a language, it is safe to assume that there would be divergent dialects of the language spoken by those Men who remained behind in Middle-earth after the founding of Númenor, one of which was spoken by Men living in the Vales of Anduin, north of Sîr Nenglor (River Gladden). Over the course of thirty-five hundred years it would likely become a separate language in its own right, which I call Rhûnaic, since it is the language spoken by Men east of the Misty Mountains.

Belegost: The dwarf kingdom of Belegost, in the Eryd Luin, survived the drowning of Beleriand, though much damaged. While Tolkien never specifically names the dwarf settlements of the Blue Mountains mentioned in the Hobbit or in LoTR, it is reasonable to assume that Belegost is meant.

Elrondionnath: The sons of Elrond; the class plural is used here since Elrond only has two sons and both are being referenced by Eluwen.

Sîr Ninglor: The River Gladden.

Craban: Singular of crebain: the ravens of Dunland.

A note on the layout of Azaghâl-dûm: Azaghâl-dûm is of course an imaginary outlier of the great dwarf kingdom of Khazad-dûm. While smaller than that city, Azaghâl-dûm is still quite large. Nearly thirty miles separate Third Deep from Fourth Rise and it takes two days to traverse the distance. The Throne room lies midway between these two levels and is the main meeting place of the city. This level also contains the feast hall and administrative halls, as well as private apartments for Lord Búri and his family. All other levels are named based on their relation to the Throne room. First Rise, then, is one level above the Throne room, while First Deep is one level below. The East Gate is located in the Second Hall of the South-end of the Third Deep, approximately thirteen miles from the Throne room. Fourth Rise is another sixteen miles further up. Each level is further divided between North-end and South-end. Those halls in the South-end of each Rise lie closer to the Throne room than those of the North-end. The opposite is true for the Deeps. The twins were originally quartered in the Fourth Hall of the South-end of the Third Rise, and therefore were only about nine miles from the Throne room level. Walking at a moderate pace — for elves and dwarves, about four miles an hour — they took less than three hours to reach the Throne room.

V: Intermezzo

Tharbad was much as Elrond remembered it, though it had grown somewhat in the last two hundred years since he had last been through the city. With a quiet word he brought his horse, a black charger named Morvain, to a walk as they approached the city gates on the fourth morning since leaving Imladris. Glorfindel was beside him on his left, riding a grey stallion he named Asfaloth. For as long as Elrond had known him, the golden-haired elf had always ridden a grey and had always named him Asfaloth. To his right Celebrían sat on a chestnut mare named Gwaloth.

He grimaced slightly at the sight of his wife sitting there dressed in breeches and tunic, her silver hair flying behind her in the wind. He had meant to leave her in Imladris, taking only Glorfindel and two others on a swift ride through Eregion, bypassing Tharbad altogether. Unfortunately, while making plans, he had neglected to take his wife into consideration.

"You are not leaving without me, Elrond," Celebrían said firmly, anger blazing in her eyes. "I will not sit here meekly waiting for you to bring our sons home."

Celebrían went white when Elrond told her the news, but quickly recovered. She followed Elrond to their bedroom where Elrond exchanged his usual robes for a riding tunic. Celebrían was exchanging her own gown for breeches and tunic even while Elrond argued against her leaving Imladris. Their argument continued into the main hall where Glorfindel was already assembling their gear.

"Celebrían —"

"You’re wasting your breath, Elrond," Glorfindel interrupted with a scowl for them both, "and time. You two can argue on the way."

Elrond raised an eyebrow at his friend and protector; Celebrían had the grace not to smirk too broadly.

Instead of four riders there were now twice that number, for Elrond would not allow Celebrían to ride without a suitable escort. She carried no weapons herself, save a long knife, but her three guards were sufficient to protect her at need. Rather than ride across the deserted lands of Eregion, it was decided to follow the route the twins should have taken, which would bring them to Tharbad. They were travelling light and would need to replenish their supplies before crossing the Redhorn Pass, for Elrond did not mean for them to stop long enough to hunt along the way. Instead, they rode swiftly throughout the day, barely resting, until several hours past nightfall. Then they were on their way again while the eastern sky was still dark. They kept to the river, avoiding the farms and settlements of Men. Yet, if any mortal had chanced to look out as the elves passed by, they would have seen naught but a thick mist moving swiftly under starlight. In this way they hoped to reach Tharbad in a matter of days.

Originally, the twins were to have crossed the Bruinen and then make their way to the Iant Vedui, turning south to follow the Mitheithel to Tharbad. This was admittedly a longer route than going straight south from Imladris, through Eregion to the Redhorn Gate, but its chief virtue was that it would have effectively put the twins within King Valandil’s province. Elrond had had no qualms calling upon his former fosterling to keep an eye on his sons and Isildur’s Heir was only too glad to help. While the twins had been intent on "going at it alone", their elders had been making sure that they would not be as alone as they might have thought.

For all the good it did, Elrond thought ruefully as he came abreast of the city gates. Their cavalcade came to a halt and Elrond fought to hide the amusement he felt at the sight of the mortals, guards and citizens alike, standing there with their mouths open. He had to admit they probably made quite a sight — the blue and silver banners of Imladris flapping in the wind, the armed escort ranged behind him, the fell light in their eyes more deadly than the keen-edged swords they carried. He did not even attempt to veil his own light, nor did Celebrían. Glorfindel fairly glowed with the light of Valinor and none of the mortals could look at him directly.

"We seek passage through Tharbad, Captain," Elrond said to the leader of the Men, speaking Sindarin, for these were descendants of Númenor, who spoke the elvish tongue as their own, "and supplies, for we have far to go and must move swiftly."

The Man bowed briefly. "As you say, my lord. Tharbad is honored by the presence of the Lord of Imladris for however long you may wish to remain with us."

Elrond nodded and started to speak but a sudden sharp gasp from Celebrían coupled with a dark pain that encompassed his heart left him speechless. Vaguely he felt Celebrían sway and one of her escort catch her before she fell from her horse. He almost thought he would fall himself when he felt Glorfindel grab his arm to steady him.

"Elrond, man raeg?"

Elrond closed his eyes and swallowed the bile that threatened to rise, taking a deep centering breath. He looked at his friend and Glorfindel was shaken at what he saw in the Elf-lord’s eyes. Even the Men looking on were stunned to silence and many had to turn away.

"Nat amartië ónoninnar!" Elrond managed to gasp, speaking in Quenya, hoping the Men would not understand his words. Then the pain was too much and he felt the world fade into blackness.

****

Elrond came to with a groan, feeling sick and dizzy and disoriented. He did not recognize his surroundings and the fact that he was lying on a soft bed under a wood-carved ceiling barely registered. He closed his eyes against the sick feeling and felt someone caress his forehead.

"Easy, mellon nîn."

"G-glorfindel?" His voice was barely a whisper.

"I am here, Elrond. Rest easy."

Elrond opened his eyes, trying to focus. He saw Glorfindel sitting on the edge of the bed, his eyes dark with worry. The golden-haired elf gently caressed Elrond’s hair and forehead, a familiar touch that brought great comfort. The dizziness began to fade and his head cleared. Glorfindel reached over with one hand to pick up a glass of water from the night table while with the other he helped Elrond raise his head.

"Drink this. It should help."

Elrond sipped the water gratefully, then allowed Glorfindel to lay his head back down. He sighed with relief.

"Celebrían?"

"Sleeping still. She came to not too long ago but I sent her back into healing sleep. You both suffered a grave shock." He hesitated, his expression full of pain. "The twins..."

Elrond shook his head. "Are alive, but that’s all I can tell you."

"You are sure?"

Elrond found himself smiling, though there was no warmth in it. "If they weren’t, mellon nîn, you would be even now planning our funerals, for neither I nor Celebrían would have remained otherwise."

Glorfindel shuddered. "It would’ve been Erestor doing the planning because I would have followed you."

Elrond’s smile was now genuinely warmer. "I’m sure Námo would have found any number of things to say about that if you had."

Glorfindel chuckled, his eyes suddenly brimming with tears of relief and Elrond reached up and pulled him into an embrace, giving back some of the comfort he himself had received. When he felt the elf’s sobs lessening, he released him and they both sat up. Elrond took a glance around the room. It was a small room with only a single large bed with a night table beside it, a washstand, two chairs and a set of pegs on one wall for clothes. He noticed his and Glorfindel’s saddlebags were piled in a corner. There were two doors, one of them opposite the bed, the other next to the washstand. Both were closed. Morning light streamed through the single small window above the bed.

"Where are we exactly and how long have we been here?"

"This is a guesthouse just around the corner from the gate. The captain of the guard — Húrin, I believe his name is — led us here, then sent for Lord Elemmacil, who holds Tharbad for Valandil. The rest of our escort is below on guard. Elemmacil should be here shortly, I suspect. It’s been less than half an hour since your collapse."

Elrond grimaced at that, but did not speak. He rose and went over to the washstand and splashed water on his face. "Where’s Celebrían?" he asked as Glorfindel handed him a piece of rough cloth that served as a towel.

"In the next room." He nodded toward the door next to the washstand. "That room has no separate entrance from the hallway, which is why I insisted on taking this room in spite of the fact that it is not the best room in the establishment, according to the proprietor. He seemed rather upset when I told him that we would be taking over the establishment for the duration. Captain Húrin and his men are even now removing the other patrons from the guesthouse. I felt it prudent under the circumstances...."

He paused at Elrond’s expression, scowling inwardly. As Captain of the guard and Seneschal of Imladris, the protection of his lord and lady had been paramount in his mind when Elrond and Celebrían had collapsed and he had wanted as few mortals to have to keep track of as possible."Anyway," he continued with less enthusiasm, "the other patrons aren’t too happy either."

Elrond raised an eyebrow. "Really? I wonder why?" he said with a teasing light in his eyes. Nonetheless, his tone of voice conveyed his true feelings about Glorfindel’s actions.

Glorfindel felt himself blushing under Elrond’s implied reprimand, feeling about as old as the twins at that moment. It was not something that happened very often. At times like this Elrond reminded him very much of Turgon when the king would call Glorfindel to task for something he had done, or not done. It had been a long time — very long — since he had felt this way.

"Galdor is guarding her at the moment," he said, deciding to change the subject.

Elrond nodded, accepting Glorfindel’s unspoken apology. "I will wake her then. Tell Captain Húrin to leave the other patrons alone. I would not wish to see anyone be put out on my account. See about supplies. I want to be out of the city within the hour."

"Do we really need to leave so soon?" Glorfindel asked nonchalantly. "Lord Elemmacil might wish to at least entertain us for luncheon. We can leave afterwards or even tomorrow."

Elrond narrowed his eyes at the elf’s words. "What are you saying, mellon nîn?"

Glorfindel’s eyes flashed with something that might have been anger, swiftly suppressed. "You and Celebrían both suffered a shock. You may think you are recovered enough to travel but I doubt it. Whatever has happened to the twins, neither you nor I can do anything about it. Let Celebrían at least remain in healing sleep for a while longer. She was..."

He shook his head, unable to find the words to describe the look of desolation in Celebrían’s eyes when she came out of her faint. Before Elrond could respond, though, there was a knock on the door. Glorfindel swore briefly under his breath as he went to answer it. One of their escort was standing there.

"Yes, Gilvellon."

The guard saw Elrond standing behind his captain and a look of relief swept across his face before he saluted and gave his report. "Lord Elemmacil is below, Captain, and is most upset." He smiled wryly. "He looks like he’s about to have a brain seizure."

Glorfindel snorted. "Well, we can’t have that, can we? Valandil would be rather put out if he has to find someone else to rule Tharbad."

"To say the least," Elrond added dryly and all three elves chuckled. "Let Lord Elemmacil know I will be with him presently, Gilvellon." The guard saluted as Glorfindel closed the door.

Elrond, meanwhile, went to his saddlebags and began pulling out a clean shirt and tunic, changing quickly. He then went into the inner room. Galdor stood in front of the bed facing the door, hand on sword hilt, ready to defend Celebrían. He relaxed when he saw Elrond standing there, gave a short bow and stepped away from the bed so the Elf-lord could see his lady. Elrond moved to the bed and quietly sat, staring down at his beloved. He reached out and caressed her silver hair, then bent down and gave her a kiss on the forehead. Straightening, he looked at Galdor and nodded. The elven guard nodded back, no words needing to be said between them. Elrond gave Celebrían one last kiss before leaving. Galdor moved back to stand before the bed, facing the closing door once again.

In the outer room, Elrond saw that Glorfindel had taken the time while he was with Celebrían to change his own clothes. "Let us go greet Lord Elemmacil."

Downstairs they found a scene of quiet pandemonium. The guards from Imladris were standing in a ring below the stairs, refusing to give way to any of the mortals milling about in confusion. Captain Húrin was there with several of his men attempting to herd several irate patrons from the establishment, while a richly dressed Man in the livery of the King of Arnor was arguing with Adandil, Glorfindel’s second-in-command. An anxious-looking Man looked on, wringing his apron into his hands. Elrond decided this must be the unlucky proprietor.

"I demand to see Lord Elrond!" the Man standing before Adandil fairly shouted. Elrond had to assume this was Lord Elemmacil, a distant cousin of Valandil. He was the typical Númenórean — tall with dark hair and grey eyes. Those eyes were presently flashing with anger. "This is an outrage, honest citizens summarily evicted from this establishment without so much as a by-your-leave..."

Elemmacil suddenly stopped his tirade when he noticed the two Elf-lords descending the stairs. Indeed, all noise stopped as the mortals stared in awe at the sight of Elrond and Glorfindel, one dark, the other golden, their light visible to all. With a quiet word from Elrond, Adandil stepped to the side, allowing the Lord of Imladris and his Captain to pass. Elemmacil stepped back, his expression uncertain.

"Lord Elemmacil, I presume," Elrond said quietly with a slight bow of his head.

The Númenórean swallowed visibly and nodded. "I am Elemmacil," he acknowledged, then seemed at a loss for words. Elemmacil was younger than Valandil by at least a couple of decades and had never encountered any of the Firstborn before, never mind his royal cousin’s foster father.

Elrond smiled warmly. "I wish to thank you for the swiftness with which Captain Húrin and his men responded to our, er, emergency. I fear my lady wife and I suffered a shock. I am grateful to the owner of this fine establishment for allowing us to rest here and recover." Elrond gazed at the nervous looking Man and gave him a small bow then turned to Húrin. "Please, Captain, there is no reason to evict these fine people. I’m afraid that in his enthusiasm to protect me and my wife, Lord Glorfindel was a bit... precipitous." He ignored Glorfindel’s quiet sigh.

"H-how is the Lady Celebrían, my lord?" Elemmacil asked, attempting to hide his nervousness and failing.

Elrond turned his gaze on the mortal, his healer’s mind automatically cataloguing symptoms of distress in the Man’s body and taking a mental inventory of what medicinals were in his packs in the event that the king’s cousin did indeed have a brain seizure. "She is resting comfortably, my lord. I think it best that she remains undisturbed for a while longer."

Elemmacil nodded and gave the Elf-lord a bow. "When she has sufficiently recovered, perhaps you and she and Lord Glorfindel would honor me by joining me for luncheon. I understand that you are in great haste and need supplies. I can have readied whatever you need in the meantime."

Glorfindel stepped forward at that point and Elrond hid a smile when Elemmacil took an involuntary step back. "I will have my second-in-command let you know what supplies are needed, Lord Elemmacil."

Elemmacil nodded, again at a loss for words. This situation had never arisen before and he was furiously wondering how he was to explain this to Valandil. He was not looking forward to writing this particular report to the king.

"I will have an escort come and show you to the citadel in a few hours then, Lord Elrond."

"Thank you, my lord. I will be sure to tell my foster son when next I see him that Tharbad is in good hands."

Elemmacil felt unaccountably pleased at Elrond’s words, as if he were a child being given praise by a respected elder. And that’s not too far from the truth, he reflected ruefully to himself as he gave the elves one more bow before exiting the guesthouse.

A quiet word from Glorfindel and Captain Húrin and his men also dispersed, leaving the elves alone with several mortals standing about uncertainly. The proprietor came forward, still wringing his hands.

"M-my lord," his voice squeaked and he reddened in embarrassment before trying again. "My lord, I am Denethor son of Elenalcar. I am the proprietor of this guesthouse. C-can you tell me how long you might be staying?"

Elrond sighed, suddenly feeling tired. "We will be staying for as long as necessary, goodman Denethor, but most likely we will leave before the day is out, for our need is great."

Denethor nodded, quickly suppressing a sigh of relief which did not go unnoticed by any of the elves, much to their amusement. "If there is anything you require...?"

"Thank you goodman Denethor. Lord Glorfindel will let you know. In the meantime I will return to my wife. I trust that the rooms we have taken were not being used by anyone else?"

"Oh, no, my lord. Indeed I was willing to give you the best room of the house, b-but Lord Glorfindel insisted..."

"Yes, Lord Glorfindel can be rather persistent when he puts his mind to it," Elrond smiled, not looking at his friend who stood impassively next to him. Without another word Elrond turned and started up the stairs. Glorfindel made to follow him, but a gesture from Elrond stopped him and the golden-haired elf remained below. With a resigned sigh and a shrug, he turned his attention to Adandil, giving him instructions about supplies and was not particularly surprised to see Galdor coming down the stairs, a bemused look on the younger elf’s face.

****

Elrond knelt on the edge of the bed, stroking his wife’s hair. She lay there in peaceful repose and he hesitated disturbing her, but with a gentle kiss on her lips, called to her fëa, willing her back to consciousness. There was some resistance at first, but when she recognized the one who called she came willingly, if not joyfully. Her eyes opened and Elrond smiled down at her.

"Mae govannen, meleth," he whispered, continuing to stroke her hair.

Celebrían smiled briefly, then her expression darkened as memory returned. "Elrond! Our sons!" she cried, attempting to sit up, tears beginning to fall.

"Shh, it’s all right, Celebrían, it’s all right." He rose gracefully and sat on the bed, taking her into his arms, softly crooning. He willed some of his healing power into her. "They’re alive, Celebrían. You must hold on to that."

Celebrían began weeping in earnest and Elrond felt his own tears coming. "Shh. Iston, iston. Na dîn, meleth. Ú-nîr. Hirithanc ionnath vîn ar tegithanc am mbâr."

Finally, her tears stopped and they held each other for a time, enjoying the mutual comfort between them. Then, Elrond felt his wife’s body stiffen and he released her. She looked up at her husband, her silver-grey eyes bright with resolve.

"Let us go find our sons."

****

Glorfindel took one look at Celebrían’s face as she and Elrond descended the stairs and sighed, knowing there would be no rest for any of them now.

"Adandil," he said quietly to his lieutenant. "Have Captain Húrin inform Lord Elemmacil that we will not be joining him for luncheon after all."

Adandil grinned shamelessly at his superior and gave him a wry salute before leaving to find the mortal captain.

Two hours later the elves were riding out of the East Gate, the banners of Imladris snapping in the wind, with an escort of mortals led by Captain Húrin. The elves were grimly amused at the idea of mortals offering to protect them and once they had passed the last earthwork surrounding the city Glorfindel uttered a soft word and they all quickened their pace, leaving the Men behind in the dust.

Most of the city’s citizens looking on as the elves departed breathed a sigh of relief; the fell look on the faces of the Firstborn, especially on that of the silver-haired lady, were too daunting for most to endure for any length of time. Lord Elemmacil, on the other hand, did not see the elves off, contrary to protocol. Instead he sat in his study drinking a glass of heady wine, wondering just how the hell he was going to explain all this to his royal cousin.

****

In the depths of the Golden Wood, Galadriel stood on the balcony of their private flet with Celeborn, the late morning sun streaming through the mellyrn, casting a green-gold haze all about. They were both looking north and west towards the Misty Mountains. Celeborn noticed his wife's expression was outwardly calm, but the silver-haired Lord of Lothlórien was not fooled.

"What do we do?" he asked quietly, willing to let her take the lead in any decision they might make.

Galadriel shook her head. "Nothing. Elrond and Celebrían come to us."

"And the Twins?" He was amazed at how steady his voice was, sure that the trembling in his body would manifest itself in the words he spoke.

She turned to look at her husband, her eyes glittering with unshed tears and the remembered Light of the Two Trees. "Our grandsons are beyond our aid."

She turned back to stare towards the Misty Mountains where the fate of her daughter's family hung in the balance. When Celeborn quietly took her hand, she did not refuse him.

The light of Eärendil found them hours later still standing on the balcony, hand-in-hand.

****

Iant Vedui: the Last Bridge, the Bridge of Mitheithel.

Elrond, man raeg?: "Elrond, what is wrong?"

Nat amartië ónoninnar!: "Something has happened to the twins!"

Fëa: Spirit, soul.

Mae govannen, meleth: "Well met, love."

Iston, iston. Na dîn, melethril, ú-nîr. Hirithanc ionnath vîn ar tegithanc am mbâr: "I know, I know. Quietly, love. No tears. We (inclusive) will find our sons and bring them home."

VI: iRîn e-Gelaidh

The journey through the dwarf settlement was, in retrospect, the best part of their adventures. The twins enjoyed their time with Thekki and Brunir, who escorted them. They were impressed by the sheer size of the halls, and the intricacy in which nearly every free space was carved with serpentine shapes and runes. While it could never compete with the beauty of Imladris, the elves found that their assumptions about dwarves and their ways were in need of some readjustment.

They reached the East Gate by midmorning where supplies had been gathered for them. There were no swords, but the dwarves gifted them with long knives and bows. Warm cloaks were also given. They were somewhat wider in the shoulders than the elves were used to and there was evidence that the cloaks had been made from two dwarf-sized cloaks stitched together to lengthen the hem.

The twins graciously thanked their hosts and with a sketch map of the route south, they were soon on their way. The day was bright but cold and they were glad of their cloaks, however awkward they felt in them. Still, they welcomed the cool breeze and the sun on their faces. They had not minded being underground, but the novelty had begun to pall by the second evening.

The East Gate lay between the arms of the Sîr Ninglor where two mountain streams joined to create the river. From the Gate a road led east towards the confluence of the two streams, perhaps ten miles away. There, they had been told, they would find two bridges. One spanned the left branch of the river, and the other the right. The elves would cross the right-hand bridge.

They met no one on the road that morning for winter was drawing nigh and trade was slowing. The land between the two streams was perhaps ten miles wide, narrowing to a point where the streams met. It was not farmland, for the soil was too rocky. They mostly passed through open fields of tall grass and wildflowers. Only along the eaves of the mountains behind them did tall conifers stand. They could see look-out towers amongst the trees along the slopes. Small figures paced back and forth. The elves suspected that from the top of the towers the dwarves had an excellent view of the surrounding area, alert for danger even in these peaceful times.

It was nearly noon before they reached the bridges, drawbridges in fact, made of thick beams of wood. The twins could see where one could easily remove the central section, thereby effectively blocking any invasion from the south and east. An army could not approach the dwarf settlement without great difficulty, for further below, the Sîr Ninglor broadened into a fen — the Gladden Fields — before joining the Anduin, making any crossing dangerous.

According to Thekki’s map the road from the left-hand bridge led towards a small settlement of Men that nestled within the shadow of the mountains. The road from the right-hand bridge, however, became a wilderness path a day’s march from there, for trade with Lórien was less frequent than with the Men of the Anduin Vale or even with Thranduil’s people. Both roads, as far as the twins could see, were well maintained and lined with trees — larch and pine, mostly, with the occasional beech and alder, their leaves a golden contrast to the dark greens of the conifers.

The twins decided to stop at the bridges and rest before continuing on.

"How long do you think we were under the mountains?" Elrohir asked as they rifled through their packs for food. There was cheese and new bread and late autumn apples and cram. The twins wrinkled their noses at that, but did not discard the dwarves’ waybread. It may not have been lembas, but it was filling and they might well be thankful for it later on.

Elladan shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I’ve lost count. I think at least a day, maybe two, went by from the time we fell into the hole until we were rescued by the dwarves. Then we were definitely with the dwarves for three days."

"Five days. Five days that we’ve lost."

"Perhaps, perhaps not. At least we’re not too far from Lórien. Thekki said it was only another week’s walk away."

"Providing nothing interferes with our walk," Elrohir said wryly as he bit into some cheese.

Elladan merely rolled his eyes as he chewed on an apple, refusing to make any other comment.

Soon, they were done eating and quickly on their way. The southern road was made of smooth flagstone, wide enough for two riders. The light filtering through the trees was a cool green-gold, soothing to the eyes. The piney resin in the air was refreshing and the elves unconsciously walked with a hand brushing the trunks of the trees as they passed. There was no sound of bird or squirrel here, and the elves walked in undisturbed silence, their own footfalls elven light.

Before long Elrohir found himself softly singing a hymn to Anor that Glorfindel had taught the twins when they were young. It had been composed, the golden-haired elf had told them, shortly after the Sun’s first rising by one of Gondolin’s finest minstrels. Sadly, Laerloriel had perished in the sack of the city. Elladan grinned but did not join in immediately, wishing to enjoy the sound of his brother’s voice raised in song.

****

Thandir and Eluwen sat in an alder, high above the twins as they walked by. They had had to convince the trees lining the road not to speak of their presence to the twins and the trees had reluctantly complied, their agitation soothed by Elrohir’s song. The scouts had left Azaghâl-dûm the evening before and had camped at the bridges, leaving no trace of their presence when they departed the next morning. Once across the bridge they looked for a hiding place and found a suitable perch on a tall alder that still had most of its leaves. Thandir sat in the crook of a branch with Eluwen nestled in his lap. The tree had obligingly moved some of its nearby branches to cover them. Thus they were completely hidden from view when the twins walked by.

Eluwen grinned at her beloved when she heard Elrohir singing and, laying her head against his shoulder, quietly hummed along, much to Thandir’s amusement. When enough distance had separated the twins from their hiding place the two scouts leapt lightly onto the ground. They paused just long enough to lay their hands on the alder’s grey trunk and thank it for its assistance before loping quietly after the twins. The branches of the tree swayed gently in response though there was no breeze.

****

The road, which had been straight for the most part, began to bend towards the mountains, bringing them under their shadow once again. Late in the afternoon, the twins came upon a mountain rill that ran merrily through the trees. A small hump of a bridge spanned the rill where the two met and just beyond, the trees fell away on either side to form a small clearing. The twins decided to make camp for the evening there.

During the next day’s travel, they noticed that the trees were beginning to thin, at least along the east side of the road. Shortly past noon they disappeared altogether, exposing open fields that stretched to the Anduin far in the blue-grey distance. The road itself continued for perhaps another league or so but soon the carefully laid flagstones ended and the road became a dirt path.

The twins stopped to examine Thekki’s map.

"According to Thekki," Elladan said, "this path is fairly straightforward. The only problem is that it disappears completely well before we reach Lórien, so we will have to find our own way after that."

Elrohir shrugged, unconcerned. He traced a finger over the route as they knelt on the flagstones, the map laid out between them. "What’s this other line here?" he asked. In truth, he had not paid much attention to his brother and Thekki discussing their route as they had made their way towards the East Gate, being more interested in Brunir telling him what tales of the Last Alliance the dwarf knew. Elrohir was fascinated by this glimpse of a time about which their adar spoke little and wished to learn as much about it as possible.

The line in question branched off from the main path towards the mountains and then veered sharply south almost to the Celebrant.

"I’m not sure," Elladan replied. "I don’t remember Thekki mentioning it."

"It looks as if it continues further towards Lórien. See, it winds through the mountains here and then appears to come upon the Celebrant just below the Dimrill Dale. Odd, I don’t recall seeing a path coming down from the mountains on that side."

"Maybe it doesn’t come all the way down."

"If we were to take it though..."

Elladan shook his head, looking doubtful. "It might be more prudent to follow Thekki’s recommendation and stick to this path. We shouldn’t have any trouble finding Lórien and I suspect that we’re not going to be surprising Daernaneth anyway. She always knows who approaches the borders. She’ll have scouts out looking for us, I imagine."

"Then it won’t matter from which direction we come, will it? And since when have we ever been prudent?" Elrohir rejoined with an impish grin.

Elladan still looked doubtful, but did not gainsay his brother.

"Well, it will be another two days before we have to decide," he said, measuring the distance on the map with thumb and forefinger. "Why don’t we stop for the night?"

Elrohir agreed and soon they had a merry fire going.

Thandir and Eluwen glanced at one another in dismay. They had managed to come close enough to the twins to overhear the conversation, a stand of trees on the west side of the road hiding them. Thandir motioned with his head and the two scouts drifted silently away until they were far enough from the twins not to be heard.

"Tell me they’re not thinking to do what I think they’re thinking to do," Thandir whispered harshly into Eluwen’s ear.

"Fine, I won’t," Eluwen replied with an impish smile.

Thandir scowled and muttered softly under his breath, letting vent to his frustration. Finally he looked up at Eluwen with a sigh and a resigned shake of his head. Then he smiled grimly, his eyes brightening with wry amusement. "When we get back to Imladris, I’m asking for hazard pay."

Eluwen had to cover her mouth with her hand to stifle the giggles that threatened to come forth.

****

The next day the weather turned. The elves (both groups) woke to a grey drizzle and sour moods. The twins scowled as they scurried about to cover up their supplies and rebuild the smoldering fire. Elrohir uttered a curse that would have had his adar, Glorfindel and Erestor reaching for the soap. The scouts, sitting in a tree, merely sighed as water dripped off their cloaks.

"Perhaps we should take advantage of the weather and do some hunting, Brother," Elladan said once the fire was going. The wood was not wet enough yet to prevent it from burning and they quickly covered up what was not being used. "This rain won’t last and we can do with some fresh meat."

"Might as well spend the day here then and dry out a bit," Elrohir said with a sigh. "We can start again tomorrow."

Elladan nodded, his mood lifting somewhat at the thought of a venison or rabbit stew. "We can try out these bows." The bows were not anything like their own elven bows, but the twins could see that they had been expertly fashioned. Thekki had told them the bows were originally made as a gift for the Headman of the nearby village of Men and his son who often came to Azagâl-dûm to hunt with Lord Búri’s people, sharing the bounty of the game. However, both had died in a landslide earlier in the summer before the bows could be presented.

"You might as well have some use for them," Brunir had told them. "Father’s still upset over Headman Gram’s death. They were great friends. He told me that he would rather have you take them than have them gathering dust somewhere in a storage cave."

The twins had bowed at that. "Please tell Lord Búri that we are honored that he esteems us so highly as to offer us these fine bows in memory of his friend."

Brunir had merely hrumphed but the elves could tell that he was pleased by Elladan’s words.

Elrohir volunteered to tend to the fire and perhaps lay some snares for rabbits while Elladan tried his luck with deer. For a while he saw no sign of game but soon a deer track led him to a small pool fed by a mountain spring that lay nestled within a fold of the mountain. He found the spoor of at least one deer and waited patiently in the trees for the deer to come to the pool to drink. He did not have to wait long. A buck, two does and a young adult male came to the pool. Elladan watched them drink, enjoying their serene beauty as they bent over to lap the clear mountain water. The buck stood guard, drinking only when the others had had their fill. The elf carefully took aim at the young buck but then something stayed his hand and with a sigh he allowed the deer to depart unmolested. He shook his head, wondering what had gotten into him, but then remembered something Erestor had told them when the twins were only twenty.

"Lord Tauron will sometimes stay a hunter’s hand, though we cannot know the reason for it. If ever you feel compelled not to kill, even if you are in dire need of food, listen to the warning of your heart. The Hîr e-Daur will not be gainsaid and the consequences of disobedience may be dire."

He unstrung his bow with a sigh, hoping his brother wouldn’t tease him too badly for being overly sentimental, and landed lightly on the ground. He paused for a few moments, taking in the serenity of the scene about him. The pool was surrounded mostly by pine and alder, but a single great oak stood on the opposite shore, its golden leaves a bright contrast to the dark green of the pine and the grey-white of the alder, their branches now bare of leaves. The trees around him sang softly, barely aware, yet there was a feeling of a Presence that filled him with a sense of dread he had never felt before — Someone was There in a way that the young elf could never fully describe even to himself.

A sudden impulse seized him and he bowed towards the great oak. He turned to leave and noticed that the drizzle had lessened. The sun suddenly came out from behind a sweep of clouds and a miniature rainbow arced across the pool. Elladan gasped at the unexpected beauty and found himself unable to move until the sun went again behind the clouds and the rainbow disappeared. With profound awe he bowed once again towards the oak before making his way back to the camp.

****

Elrohir was busy skinning a brace of rabbits, throwing the meat into a pot simmering over the fire, when Elladan returned empty-handed.

"No luck?"

Elladan shook his head. He was tempted to tell his brother what had happened to him but felt reluctant to do so. He decided that this was one experience he would not be able to share with his twin, even second-hand.

"Well, don’t just stand there like a moonstruck dwarf," Elrohir said goodnaturedly, gesturing with his knife at the rabbits still waiting to be skinned, "help me with these."

Elladan chuckled, the contemplative mood that had held him since leaving the pool fleeing, and soon the two were busy with cooking the stew and smoking the extra meat in companionable silence. Elladan produced some tubers and wild herbs he’d found on his way back to the camp, which helped make the stew more palatable.

"Then I guess the hunt wasn’t a total loss after all, was it?" Elrohir said as he stirred the stew, sniffing appreciatively at the smell emanating from the pot.

"No, I guess it wasn’t," Elladan agreed.

Something in his voice caught his twin’s attention and Elrohir gave his brother a shrewd look. "You want to tell me what happened? You were gone longer than necessary even if you hadn’t found anything to hunt."

Elladan just shrugged, feeling uncomfortable. The twins had always shared everything with one another, and to hold back like this was not something he relished, but he had the uncanny feeling that what he had experienced by the pool was for him alone. It grieved him that Elrohir would never know what he knew and he wasn’t sure how to handle it. He suddenly wished his adar or naneth were there to explain it all to him. Silly, really. One would think he was still an elfling needing reassurance or something.

"Nothing happened, Brother. I thought I had found some game but the trail turned out to be a false one." Which was true as far as it went. "I think the stew is burning," he said, hoping to divert Elrohir’s attention away from him. It worked and soon they were both eating, Elrohir’s question forgotten.

When they had had their fill, they stretched out by the fire, relaxing. "I’m hoping we find that other trail tomorrow," Elrohir said. "I’m curious as to where it goes."

"I’m doubtful still that we should stray from this path. If the other trail were feasible I’m sure Thekki or Brunir would have mentioned it."

"Perhaps," Elrohir shrugged. "Maybe they just forgot."

Elladan eyed his brother skeptically. "I doubt that."

"Well, no sense making any plans until we find it. If it’s not a promising route we’ll just continue on this path instead."

****

When Elladan went off to hunt, the scouts drew lots and Thandir won, or lost, depending on one’s point of view. Giving Eluwen a quick peck on the forehead he followed the elder twin, loping quietly through the trees. He watched the son of Elrond pick up the deer track and come upon the pool. He noted with approval the way the younger elf hid himself, waiting for game to come to him. When the deer approached the pool he expected to see an arrow fly, but none came and he wondered at it. He watched as the deer drank and then left unharmed.

Has that overgrown elfling fallen asleep? he wondered in exasperation, for he could not see the other elf in the tree from where he himself was hidden. Then, as if in answer to his unspoken question, Elladan leapt lightly from his hiding place, paused for a moment, then bowed, much to Thandir’s surprise.

The sudden break in the cloud-cover and the appearance of the rainbow across the pool caught him off-guard and he nearly gave himself away, though Elladan’s own gasp of wonder apparently hid any inadvertent sound the scout had made.

When the sun disappeared behind the clouds and the rainbow faded away, Thandir watched as Elladan bowed once again before heading back towards the camp. He waited until he was sure the other elf would not return and then walked towards the pool, senses alert, wondering what had inspired the elder twin to do as he had done. He gazed about, noting the song of the trees, the lapping of the water and the utter lack of songbird. He stared at the great oak across from him and a feeling of being measured in Someone Else’s regard grew. A sense of awe tinged with a little fear swept through him and at the last he found himself bowing — to Whom or to What, he could not say — before following after his charge.

Returning to where he knew Eluwen stood guard over the younger twin, he quietly told her what had happened, even as Elladan returned and reported his failure in finding game, never once mentioning the pool or what had occurred there. Eluwen gazed in wonder at Elladan as Thandir finished speaking. She glanced back at her husband with a questioning look.

"Will he not speak of it, ever?" she asked, for she had noted the omission from Elladan’s account to his brother.

"No," Thandir replied with a sudden certainty born of foresight. "Not to his twin or anyone else." His eyes became unfocused, seeing something that was not there. "To only one person will he speak of this and then need shall drive him."

"Who —?" Eluwen began, a frisson of fear running down her spine. She had never seen Thandir in the throes of a vision before though he had told her he sometimes experienced them.

But Thandir shook his head, the vision fading. "I do not know." He gave Eluwen a searching look, his expression sober. "You know what this means, don’t you?"

She started to speak, then paused, the implications of her husband’s question beginning to manifest themselves. Reluctantly she nodded.

For as long as Arda endured, they could never speak of this to anyone.

****

The next morning dawned bright and fair and the twins set a quick pace in spite of the fact that the road was now nothing more than a muddy trail only partially dried from the previous day’s rain. By noon they had reached what they thought was the place where the other trail came down from the mountains and began keeping an eye out for any sign of it.

"There," Elladan said, pointing to where a cut in the tree line gave evidence of a path.

They veered away from their own path to investigate. The cut was narrow and wound into the mountains, disappearing behind the trees. Elladan gave his twin a hard look.

"It doesn’t look too promising and we may even lose more time. At least the other path is straightforward enough. If we stay on it we’ll be sure to reach Lórien in another three days. I do not like the look of this path at all."

Elrohir gave his brother an impish smile. "Where’s your sense of adventure, muindor nîn?"

Elladan snorted in disgust. "I left it back in that goblin hole in which Thekki found me."

Elrohir’s smile disappeared and he became apologetic. "Sorry, muindor nîn."

His brother wrapped an arm around the other’s shoulder and gave him a squeeze, then kissed him lightly on the forehead. "Forgiven, muindor dithen."

"So what do we do?"

Elladan shrugged, not willing to commit himself one way or the other. For some minutes the twins merely stood there contemplating their choices. Elladan took the map out and examined it, trying to gauge just how tortuous this path might be in comparison to the one clearly marked out as heading towards Lórien. Thekki had warned them that the road would disappear long before they reached the Celebrant and this winding mountain trail seemed to come out just below the Dimrill Stair. The twins were familiar with that route, as it was the one most often taken by the elves traveling between Imladris and Lórien.

He glanced at Elrohir’s face, noting his twin’s expectant expression and sighed. "I think we’re going to regret this, but I have to admit I’m as curious as you to know where this trail goes."

Elrohir grinned. "Let’s go then."

When the scouts saw the twins leave the path Thandir did not utter a word but his expression was clearly unhappy. Eluwen refrained from saying anything flippant. Instead, she followed her husband up the trail, a trail they both knew led nowhere, whatever the map might indicate. She sent a brief prayer to the Valar that none of them would suffer unduly from the twins’ rashness this time.

****

The trail was narrow and twisted in a switch-back pattern across the face of the mountain, the view of the Anduin Vale often hidden by the many trees, mostly pine and larch and balsam. In spite of the coolness of the day, this late in Narbeleth, the twins found themselves feeling stifled by the thick forest surrounding them, the dark green branches forming a canopy that blocked out the sun. The air was heavy with resin and there was a silence that had nothing to do with the surprise the trees felt in seeing two of the Firstborn amongst them, for seldom had any elf wandered here since these particular trees were saplings. The silence was of a different nature, dark and menacing, and several times the twins thought to turn back but something drove them forward — whether it was pride or curiosity or something else altogether, they could not say.

Finally the trail straightened, continuing due south towards the Dimrill Dale, still several leagues away. The elves found that they were now nearly halfway up the mountain and breaks in the tree line allowed them glimpses of the Vale far below them every now and then. When they entered such open spaces along the trail the twins welcomed the cool breeze and sun, which just made everything seem more stifling when the trees closed in again.

They paused at one such open area late in the afternoon to have something to eat and to rest themselves for a bit, reluctant now to venture back into the forest.

"I wish there were some birdsong," Elrohir commented. "It would make these woods less dark."

"Do you want to turn back?" Elladan asked, sensing what his brother really wanted to say but was reluctant to do so.

"Do you?"

"We’ll lose a day, maybe two. As it is, we wouldn’t reach the other road before nightfall, for already the sun sinks behind the mountains."

"Maybe we should camp here for the night where it’s open and decide what to do in the morning."

Elladan nodded. It wasn’t the most ideal site for a camp, but it would have to do. "Maybe we should."

They set about making camp, the oppressive silence of the woods around them affecting their mood. It wasn’t that the trees were unfriendly. It was more as if the trees didn’t care and that was more disturbing than if they had been downright hostile. This indifference was unsettling to the young elves.

Even Thandir and Eluwen were uneasy and did not look forward to spending the night in any of the trees around them. They crouched on the ground, wrapped in their cloaks, their backs to a hoary larch that shivered slightly at the contact of their bodies against its trunk but otherwise refused to acknowledge their presence. Neither of the twins slept well that night, Thandir noted with grim amusement as he stood watch in the late hours. Elrohir kept starting at every snap of the kindling in the fire or sigh of a breeze in the nearby branches as if he were a raw recruit on his first patrol. Elladan fared no better, finally giving up sleep as a lost cause and joining his brother by the fire.

"I think we should go back," he said as he stirred the fire up and began brewing some tea while Elrohir continued to stay on watch.

"I am beginning to agree with you, Brother."

Thandir was in full agreement with the sentiment.

However, with the dawn, the twins’ mood brightened and looking back the way they had come they gave each other a knowing glance before setting out in the opposite direction. Thus, the next day saw them moving further into the mountains along a winding trail that narrowed almost to a deer track. Eventually, they were forced to walk single-file, scrabbling over large boulders that blocked the path.

They heard the sound of running water before they saw it. Climbing over a particularly large group of boulders they came upon a waterfall. It was rather high and the pool below it was deep. A stream rushed down in a southeasterly direction towards the valley below and the twins suspected this might be one of the many sources feeding the Celebrant still many leagues away. The current here was swift and when the twins attempted to cross below the pool, thinking it would be shallower, they quickly plunged up to their chests into the water and were nearly swept off their feet.

"We’re not going to be able to cross that," Elrohir gasped as they made their way back to the banks, wringing the wet out of their cloaks.

"Maybe further down it shallows out more," Elladan suggested and they made their way along the bank of the stream.

It was treacherous going, for the way was steep as the stream tumbled down the mountainside and there were no trees nearby to offer them handholds as they looked for a way across. Turning back never occurred to them. At last the land flattened out and the stream’s current seemed to slow somewhat, though the water was still too deep for them to attempt a safe crossing. However, they found that in the flatter land the trees were now closer to the bank. One such tree, a tall pine, was leaning over the stream, its upper branches nearly touching the water below. The elves could see that sometime in the past the bank had eroded enough to cause the tree’s roots to lose purchase and the tree was now leaning far over the stream, though it did not reach the other side. Still, they could see that it was only a short leap from the top of the tree across to the other bank.

The twins looked at each other and nodded. This was the best way they could see to cross to the other side.

"We could just continue to follow this stream down to the Celebrant," Elrohir said as they were contemplating the best way to climb the tree’s trunk.

Elladan shook his head. "You forget, Brother, that the Celebrant is too swift and cold for us to cross. It’s best if we cross here and continue on the path so that we are above the Celebrant when we reach the Dimrill Dale."

By unspoken consent Elladan took the lead crossing over the tree bridge. They had to take care for the tree was still alive. Elladan went first to test the strength of the tree to hold them, attempting to communicate with the tree to explain their need. Elladan sensed no actual protest from the pine, only a reluctant acceptance of the elf’s presence and need.

Slowly he made his way along the branches, pulling himself forward as carefully as possible, not wanting to inflict any unnecessary damage to the pine. He was about halfway across when he turned to his brother, shouting above the rush of the waters below.

"It appears to be safe, Brother. Start across."

Elrohir nodded and climbed up the tree, thanking it silently for allowing him and his brother to cross to the other side of the stream. The tree, however, seemed to have other ideas. One of these strange beings full of light he could tolerate crawling upon him, but not two. With a groan the tree shuddered just as Elrohir was about to reach out for a branch and the elf found himself falling into the water. Then the tree seemed to roll over and before he could even utter a shout Elrohir was securely trapped beneath the tree, his head barely above the water.

"Elrohir!" Elladan screamed as he struggled to keep his balance. The shifting of the tree had taken him by surprise but he had not yet moved and so was not shaken off to plunge into the waters below. He frantically began to retreat to where his brother lay trapped.

Elrohir was struggling to free himself, panic beginning to set in, but to no avail. His efforts merely made things worse. Elladan reached the place where Elrohir had fallen from the tree and leaned down. "No, ’Ro, stay still. You’re going to drown yourself otherwise."

"I c-can’t get m-my foot free," Elrohir gasped, the cold mountain water stealing the warmth from him.

"Maybe I can get the tree to roll back. Be still so I can concentrate." He laid a hand on the trunk and attempted to still his own quaking body, closing his eyes. He tried to remember all that his Daeradar had told them about speaking to the trees, but he couldn’t seem to reach this particular tree. He did not know if it was because he was not a pure-blooded Wood Elf, or because the tree was deliberately ignoring him. He opened his eyes and saw how blue his brother was.

"I can’t get the tree to move and it’s too heavy for me to do it alone."

"Wh-what are we g-g-going to do?" Elrohir’s voice was fading as the cold leached the last of his warmth. Elladan landed on the bank beside him, throwing his pack onto the ground, and tried to lift as much of his brother’s body out of the water as possible, but Elrohir screamed in pain and he was forced to lay his brother back down, though not before removing Elrohir’s own pack from his back. Then he sat down in the water to cradle his brother as best he could. Tears fell unheeded from the ellon’s eyes as he tried to think of some way to save his brother. He stared around desperately, praying silently to the Valar for help. Elrohir had gone quiet, too quiet and fearing the worst Elladan began to weep in earnest.

"Let me help," came a calm voice as he felt someone lay a hand on his shoulder.

****

iRîn e-Gelaidh: "The Memory of Trees" (Enya); literally, "The Remembrance of (the) Trees" as Sindarin has no attested word for "memory".

Tauron: Sindarin name for the Vala Oromë. He is also known as Hîr e-Daur: "Master of the Wood".

Muindor dithen: Little brother.

VII: Nin Amorthaneg

Thandir and Eluwen watched from a safe distance as the twins attempted to cross the stream by means of the pine tree. At first, it seemed as if they were going to make it, but then something happened and they saw Elrohir fall, the tree roll over and then heard the youngster’s screams as he was neatly pinned under the weight of the tree. They watched the fruitless attempts to free Elrohir and it was then that Thandir made a decision.

"Run to Lórien," he said to Eluwen softly, never taking his eyes off the twins. "Run as if Morgoth’s own hounds were after you and bring aid. I will do what I can in the meantime."

Eluwen did not hesitate, but threw her pack, bow and quiver to the ground, then gave her husband a quick kiss before she was off. She might not be able to cross this stream or the Celebrant, but she knew enough of the lie of the land to know that she need only continue due east to bring her down to the Vales and from there to Lórien. She did not know if any rescue would be on time, but she did not think of that at the moment. All that mattered at the moment was that she run as quickly as she could.

Not even the hounds of Valinor could have matched her for swiftness then.

****

Elladan gasped at the sound of the voice and the touch of the hand, looking up to find another elf standing there.

"Th-thandir? What are you doing here?" he asked in wonder.

Thandir smiled gently down at the younger elf. "One might ask you the same, penneth. Should you and your brother not be crossing the Redhorn Pass right about now?"

The younger elf groaned and then tried to stifle a sob. "He’s dying, Thandir. Elrohir’s dying and I can’t move the tree."

Thandir nodded. "Stay with him and I will see what I can do."

He moved closer to the pine and placed a hand on its lower trunk attempting to communicate with it. As a Noldo he was not as skilled in talking with trees as the Sindar or their Silvan cousins, but he had learned much from them over the last several millennia. He was shocked, therefore, when the only response from the tree was a cold indifference.

Sighing he stepped back towards Elladan and knelt beside him, ignoring the water lapping into his boots. He felt Elrohir’s throat for a pulse. It was weak and irregular but still there.

"The tree will not move for me and I have not the strength to move it myself."

"What of Elrohir? He’ll die if we don’t get him out of this water."

"Then we must make sure he does not until help arrives."

"Help?" Elladan asked somewhat stupidly.

"Do you have any warm clothing in your packs?" Thandir asked, ignoring Elladan’s question. Without bothering to wait for an answer, he stood up and grabbed the packs, throwing them open, pulling out the two Mannish tunics which the dwarves had insisted the elves take with them. Thandir had not seen them before and he blinked at the brightness of the colors. He was hard-pressed not to grin at the image of the twins dressed in them and schooled his expression to more sober tones.

"One of these will do. Get that cloak off him."

"The tunic will just get wet. What good will that do?"

Thandir didn’t bother to reply, but bent down to examine the area where Elrohir’s right foot was caught. The left foot appeared to be free, which would make things easier. He stood up, searching for what he needed. There. Running back up the bank and then towards the waterfall he came to where some flat stones lay half-submerged in the stream. They were not large nor heavy and he was able to shift them without much trouble. He brought one back to where Elladan still sat looking at him somewhat stupidly. Thandir was sure the ellon was suffering from shock as much as his twin at this point.

He went back to retrieve some more rocks then looked about for fallen tree branches. Luck was with him when he found a dead tree. He harvested as many branches as he was able to hack off with his long knife, trimming them of twigs and leaves. He dragged them back to the water.

"Thandir, what in the name of the Valar are you doing?" Elladan finally asked.

The scout stopped and grinned. "We’re going to make your brother a bed. Come. Lift him gently but put no strain on his right leg. I fear the lower half is broken."

Elladan did as he was told. Thandir grabbed the branches and began to lay them in the stream. Here, near the bank there was no current and the branches, heavy as they were, stayed where they were placed. The water was shallow here, coming only to mid-calf. He laid four of the longer and larger branches down side-by-side then took up other smaller branches, laying them crosswise. He grabbed some hithlain rope from his own pack and tied the second layer of branches to the first layer to stabilize them. On this layer he began to place the flat rocks which were now above the waterline.

"Now, lay your brother back down," Thandir ordered, throwing his cloak down first, and Elladan complied. This now effectively raised Elrohir out of the water altogether, save for his legs. "Let’s get these wet things off him. And then, change your own clothes. I’ll get a fire going as close to the bank as I can manage. That should help warm him if I can make it large enough without setting the fields on fire. I’ll make some tea and broth as well. Hot liquids will help keep him warm."

Elladan nodded dumbly and followed Thandir’s directions, grateful that someone with the Noldo scout’s millennia of experience had taken over. They quickly removed Elrohir’s soggy dwarf cloak and the shirt underneath with Elladan sitting behind his twin on the rocks, acting as a support while Thandir fished out a second shirt from the pack. They then wrestled with the wine-colored tunic, which Thandir decided was somewhat warmer than the yellow one. Once Elrohir was dressed Elladan changed his own clothes. It was only as he was donning the yellow tunic that he realized how ridiculous he and his brother both must look out here in the Wilds. We can probably be seen for miles in these tunics, he thought wryly to himself and did his best to suppress the giggle threatening to rise from within.

Thandir, in the meantime, had gotten a large fire going and Elladan could feel his own body growing warmer. Elrohir stirred when he and Thandir attempted to get some broth down him.

"Stay with us, muindor dithen," Elladan murmured as he spooned the hot liquid into Elrohir’s mouth. "Help is on the way."

He was not sure if Elrohir heard him, but color began to return to his brother’s cheeks and he seemed more at ease than before. At Thandir’s suggestion, Elladan put his twin into healing sleep to help counteract the cold of the water lapping across his legs. They laid him back down and covered him with blankets from the scouts’ packs. Then Thandir handed Elladan a cup of the broth and ordered him to drink, which the younger ellon did gratefully.

"Thandir, how did you come to be here?" he asked after taking a couple of sips.

Thandir grinned. "We’ve been following you two since you left Imladris."

"We?"

The scout nodded. "Eluwen and I. We were ordered to follow you and see that no real harm came to you. We were not to let you know of our presence except in dire need. I’ve sent Eluwen running to Lórien for help. We need to keep your brother as warm as possible until it comes."

Elladan reddened at Thandir’s words, mortified. "Adar sent you to watch over us? As if we were elflings?"

Thandir’s eyes widened in surprise. "Lord Elrond? No. Your adar did not send us. Lord Erestor did."

****

Eluwen ran. She had ceased to think how far she had run and how far she yet had to go. She simply ran, her fëa and hröa at one with the earth beneath her, with the air around her. She had left the stream some time before, heading straight east while the stream continued southward to join the Celebrant just below the Heledhael. Now she was truly on the plains and still she ran, never stopping, not even sure if she could.

That is why, when elves with bows rose out of the tall grass before her, she ran right into them, bowling two right over and landing hard and breathless on top of a third. She heard the distinctive sound of wood snapping and a curse being uttered before she realized what had happened. The elf beneath her pushed her off and she landed hard on her back, no longer capable of movement.

"Who are you?" the elf she had landed on asked, roughly shaking her, but she had no breath for speaking. She barely registered that she was surrounded by elves from Lórien. She closed her eyes, trying to collect herself, hearing only the ragged breathing of her overused lungs. Then a cool hand stroked her forehead.

"Eluwen! Edro hin gîn."

It was a voice she recognized though she could not put a name to it. It was as soft and kind as a summer’s breeze yet there was a power of command behind the words that brooked no denial. She opened her eyes to find herself staring up at the Lord of Imladris.

She felt her own eyes widen and tried to speak but her breath was still too ragged. Then another voice spoke beside her, deep and melodious. She turned her head and found herself face-to-face with the Lady Galadriel.

"Open your mind to us, child," Galadriel said and there was no way she could have resisted that soft-spoken command even if she had wanted to. In the space of a few breaths that seemed an eternity, she felt her mind being sifted gently but persistently for all that Elrond and Galadriel required of her. She did not resist, indeed, could not, and at last she felt them withdraw and her mind was her own once again.

"Drink this," Elrond said, taking a cut-glass vial from a pouch and unstopping it. He brought the vial to her lips and she took a few sips. Miruvor! In only a few moments she felt strength returning to her and her body came under her control once again.

"Can you ride, child?"

She looked up to see the silver-haired Lord Celeborn standing above her.

"I can ride," she said in a rasping whisper.

He held out his hand and she took it gratefully. Even as she stood the rest of the party from Lórien was remounting. She glanced around in wonder, for this was not a leisure party. Lord Elrond and Lord Celeborn were dressed as if for battle and even Lady Galadriel wore a mail shirt under her tunic. Eluwen was unsurprised to see the Lady Celebrían sitting her palfry, similarly dressed, a deadly Lórien bow across her back. Lord Glorfindel sat beside her on Asfaloth, looking as grim as she had ever seen the Balrog-slayer.

"You will ride with me," Elrond said and before she could offer a protest she found herself being lifted by Celeborn onto Lord Elrond’s charger, then Elrond mounted behind her.

As soon as Celeborn was ahorse the party moved out quickly. No words were spoken, for none were needed. Celeborn and Galadriel led them, the path they must take clear in their minds. Lady Celebrían and Lord Glorfindel rode beside the Lord of Imladris, listening as Elrond began to question her. Eluwen suspected that was the real reason she was riding with him rather than with one of the guards. Elrond smiled to himself, for he knew what she was thinking, and indeed, there was some truth to it. Mainly, though, he had been concerned about her physical condition and had wanted to be able to monitor it as they rode.

"Why are you and Thandir following my sons, Eluwen?" Elrond asked without preamble.

Eluwen glanced back at Elrond in surprise and confusion. "But my lord, we followed by your orders."

Elrond shook his head, looking bemused. "I issued no such orders, Eluwen."

"But Lord Erestor said...." and her voice trailed into silence at the expression on Elrond’s face.

She suddenly felt sick and wondered what punishment she and Thandir faced for departing Imladris without leave of its lord. Elrond saw the young elleth go white, and felt her body tensing. He tightened his grip on her, allowing some of his healing energy to flow into her.

"Fear not, child. No blame is attached to you or to Thandir. You acted in good faith and indeed I am grateful to you both for keeping an eye on my wayward sons. Erestor on the other hand..."

"Wh-what will you do with him, lord?" Eluwen asked with some trepidation. Lord Erestor was her superior, being in charge of all the Imladris scouts, and she was intensely loyal to him.

Elrond gave a merry laugh. "You mean before or after I skin him alive and hang him out to dry?"

"Oh, can I watch?" Glorfindel asked with all the misplaced enthusiasm of an elfling and Elrond laughed even harder. Celebrían actually giggled and Eluwen saw Lord Celeborn and Lady Galadriel look back with amused expressions.

When the laughter had died down, Elrond asked one more question, a glint of amusement in his dark eyes. "I trust my sons were not too much trouble for you and Thandir?"

"Actually my lord I believe my husband plans to ask you for hazard pay when we return to Imladris," Eluwen said with as straight a face as she could manage.

For a brief moment there was stunned silence all around and then Elrond started laughing again. "I’ll take it out of Erestor’s wages."

****

Elladan stared at the older ellon in confusion. Erestor? Erestor sent the scouts to watch over them? Somehow that made it even worse.

"Mind you," Thandir was saying, "it was by your adar’s orders, or so Erestor told us, but..."

Something in the younger ellon’s expression stopped the scout cold.

"What is it penneth?"

"H-how did we escape the goblins?" Elladan whispered, suspecting what the answer might be. He could feel himself flushing with embarrassment at the thought.

Thandir grimaced inwardly. He was tempted to take the younger ellon into his arms to comfort him, but resisted. "We met up with Lord Búri’s people as they were about to attack the goblins and apprised them of the situation, for Eluwen and I had been following your trail. We were under orders not to reveal our presence to you, though we were willing to go against such orders in order to rescue you and Elrohir. Finding Brunir and the others was a stroke of luck, if you believe in such things. The dwarves agreed to rescue you in our place."

"Then... then it was all a sham, wasn’t it?"

"What was?"

"The dwarves. Everything. They already knew who we were before they found us. They just pretended not to and let us...."

But he couldn’t finish his thought and Thandir saw him go white with mortification and then red with hot shame. Elladan found it difficult to breathe and felt a need to be moving.

"I...I...." He rose from beside the fire and found himself walking and then running away from the fire.

"Elladan! No, penneth!" Thandir shouted, but Elladan paid him no heed. He ran without thought of direction and stopped only when he found himself at the top of a cliff overlooking the floodplains of the Anduin. He sat down gracelessly and stared at nothing in particular, his thoughts confused and conflicting as he went over the implications of Thandir’s words.

They had never been alone. The entire trip had been a sham right from the beginning. He and Elrohir had suspected that their elders were herding them along the intended route, which is why they had changed their course as they had. It never occurred to him to think his adar would set minders on them.

He stared out over the land, remembering the last few weeks and everything that had happened to them. He wondered just how clever he and Elrohir had really been. Probably not as clever as we had hoped, he thought sourly.

How long he sat there he could not afterwards say, though by now the day was lengthening towards evening and a cool breeze had picked up. He realized he needed to get back to Elrohir. His brother’s welfare was paramount. Later, he would try to sort it all out. It took him several minutes to orient himself before he knew which way to go. When he returned to the camp a few minutes later it was to find Thandir attempting to get some broth down Elrohir without too much success. Shame flooded him as he realized how derelict he had been in leaving Thandir alone to tend to his twin.

"Let me do that," Elladan said, reaching out for the bowl. "You prop him up."

Thandir glanced up at the younger ellon with a nod and shifted his position. Elladan did not immediately try to feed Elrohir, but sat on one of the rocks comprising Elrohir’s "bed". He reached over and placed a hand on his brother’s face and silently brought him out of healing sleep.

Elrohir moaned as pain became a conscious reality again. "’D-dan?"

"I am here, muindor dithen. I have some broth for you. Come, eat. You need to keep your strength up."

But Elrohir wouldn’t take the broth. Instead he began weeping. "I..I’m sorry. I’m sorry."

Elladan put the bowl down and took Elrohir into his arms. Thandir rubbed the injured elf’s back, attempting to soothe him.

"Sorry for what?" Elladan asked, rocking his brother in an attempt to comfort him.

"It’s m-my fault we’re here an-and everyone will l-laugh because we didn’t make it to Lo-lórien and Adar will n-never let us go on patrol and Daernaneth will...will..."

"Daernaneth will do what?" Elladan asked, smiling in spite of himself.

"I don’t know!" Elrohir nearly wailed in his distress, "but she’ll do something."

Elladan couldn’t help but laugh at that, though tears were streaming down his face as well as he hugged his brother closer to him. "Hush, now. It’s all right. It’s going to be all right. Hush. I’m as much to blame as you. Don’t fret so, muindor dithen."

Eventually Elrohir’s sobs calmed. "Come, now," Elladan said. "Do you think you can sip some broth? Then I will put you back into healing sleep."

Elrohir nodded and in a few minutes the broth was drunk and he sank gratefully back into sleep. All the while Thandir did not speak and indeed Elrohir was not even aware of his presence. When Elrohir slipped into healing sleep, Thandir and Elladan moved off the rocks and sat beside the fire, warming themselves. Thandir gave Elladan an appraising look.

"I am sorry if my words upset you, penneth. You must believe me that Eluwen and I have nothing but the highest regard for you and your brother. You exhibited great courage and ingenuity on this trip and I am very proud of you, as I know your adar and naneth will be."

"But it was all for nothing," Elladan said quietly. "We failed."

Thandir shook his head. "You only fail if you’ve learned nothing from your experience. Come now, the fire needs more kindling. We will need to keep it going through the night, for I fear Eluwen cannot reach Lórien for some time and it will be late tomorrow before help can arrive."

But in that, he was wrong. They continued feeding Elrohir every hour. Elladan worried about what the cold water was doing to his brother’s circulation but Thandir assured him that all would be well. Sometime near midnight as they were attempting to feed Elrohir once again, Thandir looked up with a hiss.

"Someone approaches," he whispered, setting Elrohir down as he moved off the rocks and grabbed his bow. Elladan cautioned Elrohir to silence and then joined Thandir on the bank, the two of them facing southeast. For long moments they saw nothing, and then, through the trees they could see flickers of light and felt the earth pounding with the sound of horses running. Thandir and Elladan looked at each other in surprise.

"I guess help is coming sooner than expected," the scout said with a wry smile and Elladan whooped in gladness and began running towards the approaching party.

The cavalcade stopped at a signal and Celeborn was off his horse before anyone else, his arms wide to receive his oldest grandchild. Elladan collapsed into Celeborn’s embrace and began crying tears of relief, breaking down at last, barely hearing his Daeradar’s words of comfort. Then he was being pulled out of his grandfather’s embrace and into his naneth’s arms and that somehow did not surprise him at all.

When he had regained sufficient control of himself, now feeling a bit silly, he glanced about sheepishly, but there were no snickers of amusement nor looks of contempt. There were only expressions of relief on everyone’s faces, relief and joy.

"H-how did you come so quickly, Daeradar?"

Celeborn smiled. "We were already on our way to you when we, er, ran into Eluwen."

Now there were snickers all around and Elladan wondered about it, but before he could voice the question he saw his adar approach. "Adar! Elrohir is injured."

Elrond took his son into his arms and held him for a long moment, surreptitiously running his hands over the ellon’s body to ascertain his condition, allowing some of his healing energy to enter his son and strengthen him. "I know, iôn nîn. Take us to him."

They made their way towards the stream. Celeborn issued orders for a camp to be set up as he and Galadriel followed Elladan and Elrond. Celebrían had already run ahead with Glorfindel. Thandir was bowing to them, a look of surprise on his face, as they approached but Celebrían ignored the scout to go to Elrohir. Glorfindel gave Thandir a warrior’s clasp and the two began filling each other in. When Elrond came to them, Thandir bowed.

"My lord, I am glad to see you, though somewhat surprised."

"No more surprised than I to see you and Eluwen," Elrond said with a slight smile. "However, we will speak of it later. Elrohir is our main concern."

Thandir nodded and looked about for Eluwen, wondering why she hadn’t come to him. Elrond smiled. "Eluwen is well, Thandir. She overextended herself in running for help and I have ordered her to remain with the guards and rest. Go to her, son. Your watch is over."

Thandir hesitated for a moment, but a slight nod from Glorfindel settled him and he bowed to Elrond before moving away to find his wife. Elrond then went to where Celebrían was sitting with Elrohir who was weeping in her arms. She was trying to soothe him but to no avail. Elrond sat behind him and gently pulled him away from Celebrían so he was nestled in his arms.

"Elrohir, be still," Elrond said quietly, smoothing the hair from his son’s forehead, sending healing energy into him, willing him to calm. The ellon hiccupped much as he had as an elfling after a teary moment and Elrond could not help but smile at the memory. "That’s better, iôn nîn. There’s nothing to fear. All is well. Sleep now, child. Sleep."

Elrohir struggled to keep his eyes open but his adar’s voice was too calming. He turned into Elrond’s embrace with a sigh and slipped into healing sleep once more. Elrond, meanwhile, was gauging his son’s physical condition.

"Who came up with the idea of this platform?" he finally asked.

"Thandir did," Elladan replied as he crouched on the bank watching his parents tend to Elrohir. "I...I don’t think I could have ever thought of it myself." He hated to admit it, but it was true nonetheless. "We’ve been feeding him broth every hour and I put him in healing sleep between feedings."

Elrond nodded. "You’ve done well, both of you." He shifted off the rocks and held Elrohir up long enough for Celebrían to take his place before laying him in his naneth’s arms. Then he climbed onto the bank and lifted Elladan up and gave him a hug of reassurance.

"Elrond," Celeborn called softly. He and Galadriel were standing in the water on either side of Elrohir’s feet. Celeborn had one hand on the tree trunk. "It will take me some time to convince the tree to move of its own accord. Does Elrohir have that time?"

Elrond nodded. "He is in healing sleep. His circulation is sluggish especially in his lower limbs, but not dangerously so. A few more hours will not matter."

Celeborn nodded, but before he could say anything, Elladan spoke up, sounding mystified.

"Daeradar, what’s wrong with the trees here? They feel so strange and they won’t even acknowledge us."

The silver-haired Elf-lord sighed and shook his head. "That is a tale for another time, my child. We must free your brother first."

Galadriel spoke then. "This tree does not suffer our presence gladly, my husband. It will not cooperate."

Celeborn’s expression became grim. "It will suffer me." He placed both hands against the trunk once again, closing his eyes in concentration.

Elladan suddenly felt as if he could not breathe, for the air around him became thick with energy as the one-time Prince of Doriath unleashed his Power, commanding the tree to obey him. No one moved, indeed, movement was impossible for any of them. For an interminable stretch of time nothing happened, then slowly, almost imperceptibly, they felt, rather than heard, a groan of protest from the tree and then the ground around them trembled as the tree slowly rolled away.

"Now, Elrond," Celeborn whispered, his eyes still closed in concentration.

"Glorfindel!" Elrond shouted without looking around.

"We’ve got him, Elrond! He’s free."

Elladan felt himself sag with relief and made to go to his brother but his adar stayed him with a touch. Power still filled the space between them all and Elladan stood in awe as he watched his daeradar. There seemed to be a glow about him that the younger elf had not noticed before. It was soft and radiant and silvery like the light of Ithil and it grew until the entire area was awash in it. Elladan heard a rustling sound near him and he could swear that the pine tree’s roots were moving, digging deeper into the ground. Then, with a gasp that was echoed by others, he watched as the tree slowly raised itself up. Celeborn never removed his hands from the tree, never moved from where he was standing. Galadriel stood just behind him watching. Her expression was neutral, but her eyes glowed with preternatural light.

With a slurping wet sound of tree roots wriggling into the ground by the bank of the stream the pine tree eventually righted itself. Slowly the light surrounding the Elf-lord faded until only starlight remained to illuminate the night. Celeborn sighed, opened his eyes and turned to his wife who traced a single finger gently down his cheek. He took her hand into his own and kissed it, their eyes never leaving one another.

"Will it hold?" Galadriel asked and Celeborn nodded.

"For now. In the morning I will see that the bank is shored up to prevent further slippage."

Elladan just stood there in awe. He suddenly saw Celeborn in a new way, not just as his beloved daeradar, but as an Elda of great power, whom even the trees obeyed. He was suddenly reminded of the fact that his daeradar remembered the stars before the rising of Ithil and Anor. Celeborn had walked beneath the trees of Neldoreth and Region within the presence of Melian and Elu Thingol. Elladan had no doubt that the King of Doriath and his Maia Queen had taught his daeradar much concerning Power.

Elrond saw the look of shock and wonder on his son’s face and smiled. Celeborn rarely showed his power, but that was not to say it wasn’t there. He touched Elladan’s arm, bringing his son’s attention back to him.

"Let us see how Elrohir fares," he said.

Elladan nodded and followed his adar to a nearby clearing where tents had been raised. They were directed by one of the Galadhrim towards the largest tent where they found Elrohir lying on a cot. Elrond’s healer’s bag lay open on a second cot along with cleaned slats for a splint. Celebrían and Glorfindel had stripped the injured ellon of his clothes and were drying him off. His lower limbs, where they had been submerged in the water looked pale and blue and Elladan feared that circulation had been cut off for too long. He felt his adar pat him on the shoulder before the healer went to examine his other son.

"The circulation is returning and I have encouraged the blood vessels to carry even more blood than usual to the lower limbs," Elrond said. "There is some damage to tissue and possibly to nerves, but I think they will heal well enough. This leg, however, will need to be splinted."

"I’ve collected the necessary materials, Elrond," Glorfindel said nodding towards the other cot, having anticipated the healer’s needs. Elrond smiled at his friend and nodded.

"Thank you, mellon nîn. Let us begin then."

Elladan stood nearby feeling altogether useless and superfluous while Elrond, assisted by Glorfindel and Celebrían, began to splint Elrohir’s leg. Then he felt his daeradar wrap his arm around him while his daernaneth stroked his hair and knew that he was neither useless nor superfluous to those who loved him.

When it was done, Elrond stood back, a pleased smile on his face.

"He should be better by morning but I do not want him moved for at least two days."

"Then I will have Haldir organize a hunt," Celeborn said. "My grandson will need nourishing food when he awakens."

Celebrían, meanwhile, was fishing out a nightshirt, obviously Elrond’s, from a pack and she and Galadriel began dressing the still sleeping ellon. Glorfindel was folding the wine-colored tunic that Elrohir had been wearing and eyed the one that still graced Elladan’s body with a teasing smirk.

"You’ll have to tell me who your tailor is, youngling. These tunics are quite...bright."

Elladan found himself blushing and was attempting to remove the offending tunic but Celeborn held his hands in his own, laughing. "Don’t worry, child, no one minds. I recognize the tunics as belonging to some Men who sadly will never have any need for them again. I would like to think that they would be pleased that their tunics helped to keep my grandsons warm when they most needed it."

Elrond came over to Elladan and placed a hand on his forehead. "You are weary iôn nîn. Come, lie down and rest beside your brother. All is well now."

Elladan was about to protest but a yawn stopped him and with a reluctant nod he allowed himself to be led to the other cot now empty of healing bag and materials. The last thing he remembered as sleep took him was feeling his naneth tucking a blanket around him and bending over to give him a kiss while his daernaneth and daeradar sat beside their daerionnath softly singing a Silvan lullaby.

****"

Nin Amorthaneg: "You Raised Me Up" (Sorry but I’ve been listening to Josh Groban lately).

Penneth: Young one.

Muindor dithen: Little brother.

Hröa: Body.

Heledhael: Mirrormere. According to the Reader’s Companion, page 269, Tolkien translated the Dwarvish name Kheled-zâram as "glass-pool" and I have used that to back-translate into Sindarin rather than use the more normal cenedril "looking-glass, mirror".

Edro hin gîn: Open your eyes.

Miruvor: Elvish cordial.

VIII: Coda

Elladan looked out over the balcony of the flet belonging to Celeborn and Galadriel, enjoying the early evening breeze rustling through the mellyrn. He could see Celeborn and Elrond helping Elrohir up the stairs leading to the flet. The splint had been removed the day before and Elrond had begun giving his son exercises to help strengthen the injured leg. Nerves had been damaged, as the Lord of Imladris had feared, and were slow to repair themselves but Elrond was confident that his son would regain full use of his leg in time.

Watching his adar and daeradar with his twin Elladan reflected on all that had happened. They had remained in the glade for two days during which Elrond had kept Elrohir in healing sleep. A horse litter had been constructed and used to transport the ellon to Lórien, much to that young elf’s disgust and Elladan’s amusement. They had taken another two days of easy riding before reaching the borders of the Golden Wood.

It had been decided among the elders that they would not speak of what had happened with the twins until Elrohir was more on the mend. Celebrían had been appalled when Elrohir had begun weeping inconsolably upon waking up in the tent all because the twins had not reached Lórien on their own. It had taken some time before any could calm him and assure him that all was well and none thought the less of him or Elladan for failing to reach their goal.

Now a week later they were all gathered to hear the entire story. Elladan turned back into his daernaneth’s sitting room. Galadriel and Celebrían sat together embroidering the new tunics they had made for the twins. Elladan winced slightly. The tunics were in the soft green-grey of the Galadhrim, but were being trimmed in bright shades of wine-red and buttercup-yellow flowers that were in stark contrast to the usual blues and greens preferred by the elves of Lórien.

"When you wear these," Galadriel had said with a mischievous laugh when the twins had seen the tunics being embroidered, "it will remind you of your adventures."

"As if we needed any reminders," Elrohir had muttered to his twin and Elladan had heartily agreed.

Glorfindel lounged on a nearby settee with Thandir and Eluwen, both of whom looked slightly ill at ease in the company of the great lords and ladies of two Elven realms. The three were speaking softly to one another, sipping on wine. Just as Elladan found a seat next to his daernaneth, who smiled warmly at him before returning to her stitching, Elrohir came in with Elrond and Celeborn. His twin’s face was wreathed in a huge smile.

"I did it, ’Dan! I made it all the way to the bottom and back!"

Elladan grinned back. "I know. I saw you. Come and sit by me, brother."

Elrohir complied while Celeborn and Elrond found seats for themselves. They were nearly settled when a fair voice sounded from the doorway.

"Am I too late to hear of the adventures of your sons, Elrond?"

Elrond and the others immediately stood up. "My Lord Amroth, you are most welcome and no you are just in time."

The King of Lóthlorien entered with a smile as everyone bowed and he bade them to resume their seats even as he took the one that Celeborn offered him. Elladan watched the king under lowered lids. To see him you would never think that Amroth was Lord of the Golden Wood. He was dressed plainly in Lórien grey and had an unassuming air. His quiet manner put everyone at ease, especially the two Imladris scouts, but Elladan sensed the same hidden power that he now felt in his daeradar, a power he was only beginning to comprehend.

When all were finally seated, Galadriel looked around the company, her gaze penetrating, her fingers never stopping the flow of stitches she was making on Elrohir’s tunic.

"Now, who would like to start?"

They ended up taking turns. Elladan and Elrohir explained why they had chosen to change their intended route as they had. Celeborn raised an eyebrow at that and glanced at his son-in-law in amusement but did not interrupt. Thandir explained the orders Erestor had given them and the twins blushed several times in embarrassment when it was again gently pointed out to them that their survival wasn’t all from their own efforts. They all laughed at Eluwen’s description of the twins running before the bear cub, but turned several shades of white at the description of the attack by the goblins and how close the twins had been to dying. At that point Elrond described what had happened in Tharbad and the twins snickered when he got to the part about having to reprimand Glorfindel.

It was only when they came to that part of the tale describing the woods where Elrohir was injured that the talk slowed to a reluctant halt.

"What happened there, Daeradar?" Elladan finally asked. "The trees..." but he couldn’t finish the thought and Celeborn merely shook his head.

"I fear the true story will never be known, daerion nîn. I can only tell you that some time before the rising of Ithil and Anor a terrible wrong was committed under the dark of the stars. Some of the Avari dwelt in those woods at the time, but what happened to them, none can say. After the drowning of Beleriand, some of us began exploring the lands on either side of the Hithaeglir. When we found these woods the trees did not welcome us as they had elsewhere. They were, in fact, in deep shock and we could get little out of them except that both trees and elves had been betrayed, but by what or by whom we could never ascertain."

The silver-haired Elf-lord sighed. "The total indifference of the trees unnerved us and it was decided to leave them to themselves. We named the woods Eryn Dîn and Amroth forbade the elves to enter it. We hoped in time that they would heal, but an entire Age has passed and that has not happened."

"Perhaps it is time it did," Elrond said softly, the healer in him grieving at the depths of pain the trees must have felt to turn away from the elves.

Amroth nodded, speaking for the first time. "You are right, Elrond. It is time for the healing to begin. I will go to Eryn Dîn with Celeborn and the Galadhrim and we will seek to heal the wounds. Too long has that wood been silent. It is time for it to join in the Song once again."

There was silence for a while, then Elrohir shifted his healing leg to a more comfortable position and sighed. "I guess it was all for nothing, then. We should have just stayed in Imladris and saved ourselves the trouble."

Thandir shook his head. "No penneth. You must not think that. As I told Elladan, Eluwen and I have the greatest respect for you both. You faced each challenge with courage and wit and even humor. And do not think the dwarves of Azaghâl-dûm considered you with contempt. They were highly amused, of course, but they saw and admired your strengths, not your weaknesses, your courtesy under pressure, not the state of your clothing. You impressed them very much, knowing how young you were as we elves measure such things."

Elrond leaned over from where he was sitting and placed a comforting hand on Elrohir’s knee. "Thandir speaks truly, iôn nîn. We are all immensely proud of you both." Here Elrond paused, a twinkle in his eyes as he glanced at Celebrían, who returned his look with a smile of her own. "Of course, that is not to say that you won’t be punished for causing your naneth such distress as she suffered. I think it will be a few more years before I will allow you to patrol outside Imladris. In the meantime, I may send you back to Azaghâl-dûm and ask Lord Búri to instruct you in the proper way of finding your way through caves. You really need to learn to follow your noses."

The others laughed at that as the twins blushed.

"I still can’t believe Erestor sent these two along to keep an eye on the twins," Glorfindel said with a nod towards Thandir and Eluwen, both of whom squirmed somewhat under the scrutiny of their lord and lady. "Why didn’t you think of it, Elrond?"

The Lord of Imladris gave a wry laugh. "Because I already had half of Valandil’s troops on the look-out for my sons between the Bruinen and Tharbad. The worst that could have happened to them along that route was getting rained on."

"Did Erestor know about Valandil’s men?" Celeborn asked and Elrond nodded.

"Then why...?" Eluwen started to ask but Elrond just shook his head.

"We’ll have to wait until we return to Imladris to ask. I noticed that he was nowhere to be found when I learned that my sons had gone missing. I did not think of it at the time, being more concerned with leaving Imladris as quickly as possible. Now I wonder..."

"Perhaps he saw something..." Celebrían offered, and Elrond shrugged.

"I hope Lord Erestor won’t suffer too much on our account, my lord," Thandir said. "Eluwen and I were honored to be entrusted with your sons’ safety."

Elrond stood up and smiled warmly as he walked over to where the scouts sat, placing his hands on their shoulders. "You both have my deepest gratitude, Thandir, Eluwen. Whether it was a vision sent by the Valar or his own love of my sons that prompted Erestor to send you I cannot say. I only know that I will be forever grateful for him doing so. Though why he felt he could not confide in me..." Elrond shook his head resignedly as he looked at Glorfindel.

Glorfindel simply shrugged then turned to the twins with a grin. "Your adar has threatened to skin Erestor alive and leave him out to dry."

The twins glanced at their adar in surprise then looked at each other before turning back to their elders with identical mischievous grins. "Can we watch?" they asked in unison.

The laughter was long and loud and echoed throughout the Golden Woods as Eärendil sailed across the star-strewn night.

****

Eryn Dîn: Silent Woods.

Author's Note: If you are curious to know what happens to Erestor once everyone returns to Imladris, you may find out in my story Erestor in the Dock at http://www.storiesofarda.com/chapterview.asp?sid=5073&cid=20801.