Chapter Twenty

In Elrond’s library, the Lord of Imladris and his two elven sons were deep in their search for answers. Elrond himself wasn’t sure why they were really there. He had gone over and over everything that could even remotely be associated with what had happened to Legolas, and there was precious little of it.

He had done extensive research on snakes in general and unusual ones in particular once he had realized that Legolas's condition was due to Mordraug. There was nothing that resembled the snake the dark elf was using as a weapon. It seemed that the snake and his abilities were unique in all of Middle-earth, at least as far as he was able to tell. The snake had been embedded in an amber stone. There was no way to know how long it had been there. He doubted that even Mordraug knew its origins, not that he probably cared over much. It did his bidding, and that was surely all the dark elf was interested in.

Elrond and his sons had been there for close to an hour, when Glorfindel knocked on the door. At Elrond’s invitation, he entered the library. “Could you use some help?”

“We would appreciate it,” Elrond said, smiling at his old friend.

“I just talked to Thranduil,” Glorfindel stated. When all eyes turned to him in surprise, he shrugged. “I know he and I do not exactly see eye to eye most of the time, but I am concerned about Legolas. He told me, just now, everything that happened to Legolas in the forest, as well as the cruel attack he just suffered. All of it is dreadful beyond words. I still cannot believe that what Mordraug did almost two thousand years ago is happening all over again.”

Elrond sighed. “I have a hard time believing that also, except I saw with my own eyes what Mordraug just did to Legolas. We need to find something that will help him.” His words were determined, but his tone held little hope.

Glorfindel sat down on the sofa next to Elladan and picked up a book. He was sure that he had read that same book recently, but maybe there was something he hadn’t noticed before that would stand out now. It was unlikely, but he would read the book upside down and backwards, if it meant he might find something to help the young Wood elf.

The four elves turned their attention to the research. The only sound in the room was the occasional rustling of a page, as it was turned. From time to time one or another of the elves would go to a shelf and choose another book, replacing it with the one already studied. The spirits of all four gradually grew increasingly frustrated.

“This is a waste of time!” Elrohir said after a while, as he slammed a book shut. “There is nothing in any of these books,” he swept his arm around to encompass the whole room, “that will tell us how to fight the venom. I think we all know that by now.”

Elrond understood his son’s despair, but it was Elladan that spoke first. “We have to keep trying. I do not think any of us want to give up on Legolas.”

“That is not what I meant,” Elrohir said defensively. “The answer we seek is not to be found in anything here. We must look elsewhere.”

Elladan looked at his twin. “And, just where is ‘elsewhere‘?”

Elrohir hesitated before continuing. “I still think we should go after Mordraug.” He held his hand up. “I know what you are going to say. Legolas will not let us risk any of our warriors. So, why do we not just go ourselves and take our chances?

“Legolas would not let us do that, either,” Elladan replied. “I cannot blame him. I would not let any of you do it for me were I in his place.”

“So, we just let him die?” Elrohir didn’t mean to sound so harsh. He just couldn’t stand doing nothing useful. He knew full well that Estel would not give up, as he had already stated quite firmly. “There is more at stake here than just the life of a dear friend. Many more elves will surely fall, as well, if Mordraug is not stopped, and there does not seem to be anyone else to do it.”

Before anyone could remark on Elrohir’s comment, Estel came bursting into the room. One look at his tear-stained face frightened them all. The man didn’t notice the startled expressions that soon turned to ones of fear. He blurted out, “Legolas is gone!”

Each and every elf in the library immediately assumed that Legolas had had another attack, and that Estel was telling them that the young Wood elf had died as a result of it. The sorrow that suddenly permeated the room was so thick it was palpable.

At first no one moved. Even Aragorn was rooted to the spot, as he seemed to be waiting for someone to say something. Elrond quickly rose, walked around his desk and enfolded Estel in his arms. “I am so sorry, my son. I know how you cherished Legolas. He was a friend beyond measure to you---to all of us.”

It took Estel a moment to realize what his father meant by his words. He pulled back from Elrond’s embrace. “No. No, Ada. You don’t understand. Legolas isn’t dead. By ‘gone’ I meant he’s left Rivendell. He went after Mordraug. He believes he’s already doomed, so he thinks going alone is the only way to save his family, as well as Mirkwood.” He looked around at the faces in the room. Their expressions were a mixture of both relief and anguish.

Elrond, whose overriding emotion was one of relief, put his hand under Estel’s chin and turned his head to the right, studying the left side of his son’s face. He closely studied the bruised jaw. “He knocked you out, so that you could not stop him from going alone.” It was a flat statement born of Elrond’s countless years of quickly gathering facts and making correct suppositions.

“Yes, that’s exactly what he did. I saw it coming, but elves are fast.” He tenderly touched his jaw. “They hit hard, too.“ There was no mirth in the remarks. He shook his head out of Elrond’s grasp. “We have to go after him, Ada.”

“Are you saying Legolas has gone after Mordraug?” came a voice from behind Aragorn. Standing in the doorway and looking decidedly distraught was Thranduil.

Aragorn turned and looked into the concerned blue-gray eyes of the elven king and then nodded. “You know that Mordraug will not hesitate to kill him.”

Thranduil was shaking his head. “Mordraug will not kill my son before I arrive. I am sure of that. How long ago did Legolas leave?” Thranduil’s tone had taken on that of someone who had decided to take action and was gathering information before doing so.

“Judging by the moon, I’d say almost an hour. He has a big head start on us, but we can catch him, if we leave right now.” Aragorn wasn’t really sure if anyone could catch Legolas. His elven stallion was incredibly swift, and Legolas would be moving without much rest to get to Mordraug and at the same time outrun any possible pursuit. He wasn’t going to mention that last little fact, though he doubted he needed to.

Elrohir did it for him. “We will never catch him now. He will not slow down, except to rest his horse, until he reaches that valley forest. You know he knows some of us are going to follow, and we will have to rest our horses, as well.”

Elrond seemed to be the only one to pick up on the fact that Elrohir had said the ’will’ of certainty and not the ’would’ of doubt about following the young Mirkwood elf. His eldest son began speaking before he could make a comment.

Elladan quickly agreed with his twin, when he added, “He will want to finish the whole affair before any of us can reach the forest. He is determined to protect us, no matter what it costs him.”

“He thinks he’s already been killed,” Aragorn said sadly, the argument with Legolas still fresh in his mind. A touch of anger resurfaced, as his mind added, *infuriating elf*, echoing what he had called Legolas earlier.

Elrond looked directly at the Mirkwood king. “You cannot go, Thranduil. You must stay far away from Mordraug. If you saw him harming Legolas, you might become overwhelmed emotionally and give in to his demands in order to save your son. It would be more than any father could be expected to endure.”

“Thank you for your concern, Elrond, but I have been the ruler of my kingdom for several millennia, so I am quite strong enough to do what I must to protect it,” Thranduil declared firmly. “I have to go.” His determination not to be swayed was evident. He seemed to have forgotten his earlier belief that the dark elf would not spare Legolas no matter what he did. He also seemed to forget that the poison was irreversible. In truth, he had forgotten none of it. But, now that he was faced with his son dying alone, far from him and his home he could not just sit and do nothing. At the least, he may be able to help Legolas destroy the dark elf once and for all before.... HIs mind refused to form the thought. If he should also fall against the dark elf, he knew his eldest son would carry on as a capable ruler for their people.  He also knew that the rest of this family would fight for Mirkwood's freedom down to the last drop of their blood against all comers.

Aragorn seemed to realize in what direction Thranduil’s thoughts were aimed, as he watched the Wood elf’s face. “You and I will go,” he declared to the King.

Thranduil nodded and turned to go. When Aragorn began to follow, Elrond grabbed the man’s arm. “No, Estel. You are not part of this.” He steeled himself for an argument. He was not disappointed.

Estel looked back at his father with wide eyes. “Not part of this? How can you say that, Ada? Legolas is as much a part of me as any blood kin ever could be. We were together in the valley forest. I took care of him when he was unconscious. He is my best friend, my brother in spirit. I am standing here right now, because he has saved my life countless times during our friendship. Oh yes, I am very much a part of this, and I will go after him, like it or not.” Estel was sorry to speak to his father this way, but he was not about to be denied. He would go after Legolas.

“We will go, as well,” came Elladan’s voice. He and Elrohir had already indicated that they would follow their elven friend, but now the eldest of Elrond’s twins was clearly declaring it. He knew his father would not be pleased about all three of his sons heading out into danger, but he and Elrohir weren’t going to be denied, either. He didn’t even have to look at Elrohir to know he agreed completely.

When Elrond looked toward the twins, he saw that Elrohir was nodding. “There is no way we are letting Estel and Thranduil go alone. Besides, Legolas is our friend, too.” Elrohir stared back at his father. “You love him, too, Ada. You know he is doing this for all of us.”

Elrond sighed. He had no more arguments left. He knew it was true. He also knew that he really couldn’t stop any of his sons from going. They were all grown and had been making their own decisions for a long time. It was just his father’s heart that wanted to keep them safe in Rivendell.

“I will go with them,” Glorfindel said, coming into the debate for the first time. He hoped that his offer would not be construed as him wanting to go to protect the three sons of Elrond. He truly thought he could be of help. “I suffered watching the horror of what Mordraug did all those years ago, and I would like nothing better than to share in the revenge.” His eyes glinted with anticipation.

Elrond looked around at all the faces in the room with him. He could do nothing to prevent what was to come. “I will go with you, also. I was part of the beginning of it, and I will be part of what I hope will be the end of it.”

Somewhat to his own surprise, Elrond felt himself becoming eager to confront Mordraug. Normally, the elf lord did not engage in retribution, but this was different. Elrohir was right. Mordraug needed to be stopped. Elrond’s only regret was that Legolas couldn’t be saved in the process.

Aragorn hadn’t wanted to interfere with the debate going on, as each elf made their own decision on what they would do. However, he had now reached a state of extreme impatience. “Then, come on. We must prepare and get started. Every moment of delay takes Legolas that much farther ahead of us. We must find him before he finds Mordraug.”

The man turned and headed out of the door, saying, “Meet at the stables in fifteen minutes.” Then, he was running down the hallway toward the stairs that led to the floor above where his room was located.

It wasn’t until he reached his room to gather his gear for the journey that Aragorn remembered the letter Legolas had left for Thranduil. He grabbed it off of the bed and put it in an inside pocket. He would decide later when the time was right to give it to the elven king. He knew the heartache it would bring, but Legolas had written it for his father, and had left it for the ranger to deliver. Estel could not, in good conscience, refuse to do so. He only hoped that the goodbye he was sure it contained would be an unnecessary one.

In exactly fifteen minutes, all the group was assembled at the stables. Elrond and Glorfindel had discarded their robes and in their place wore the clothes befitting warriors. It was a sight that the younger members of the group had rarely seen, since the warrior days of both were long behind them. Almost, it seemed.

They all stood together just outside the doors, as stable hands brought their horses out to them. Each member of the group began to load their packs and extra weapons onto their mounts.

The moon shone down on the group of five elves and one human, as they headed south down the road that each believed would take them to a harrowing encounter with evil.

TBC