A day passed by, and then another, and while his leg seemed to heal fine and he was able to walk with a crutch the second day after he was fished out of the river, his memory was slow to come back. At night Elladan saw faces and heard voices he knew, but he could give them no names and did not know why he knew them. It was as if they were persons he knew out of another life, only that it really was his life. He just could not remember it.

Late on the second day after Finn and Gareth had rescued him, Elladan sat in front of the hut the two men lived in. The makeshift crutch he used leaned against the bench he was sitting on. It was a relatively warm day with few clouds, and Elladan enjoyed the last golden rays on his face before the sun sank down behind the horizon. The river he had been found in whispered nearby and Elladan hoped that the sound of the water would help him remember. Or maybe his strange dreams would, in which he saw a person searching for him, calling a name he did not recognize but somehow knew was his. It was strangely comforting to know that there were probably people out there looking for him.

“Thinking again?” A voice interrupted his musings and Elladan looked up at the speaker.

Finn stood before him, his hair slightly disheveled. A dog sat by his side, its tongue hanging almost to the ground. It was obvious that Finn had just returned from his work on the fields with the sheep.

“Yes, it would seem that thinking is the only thing I can do right now.” Elladan replied somewhat hesitatingly.

“Don’t worry lad.” Finn said and took a seat next to Elladan on the bench. The dog stretched and shuffled between Finn’s legs to lay under the bench in the shadow. “You are healing quickly. When you are recovered and still don’t know who you are, you can help Gareth and me with the flock, if you like.”

Elladan gave a small smile, “I think I would like that. You saved my life and I would like to repay you for your kindness.”

“Ah.” Finn waved his hand through the air. “I’m sure you would have done the same for me and Gareth. I’m sure we can find an adequate way for you to repay us.”

Before Elladan could reply, the sound of boots crunching over grass reached their ears. A moment later, Gareth appeared from behind the house. “The sheep are in the barn and the cows are stabled, too.”

A little bit confused, Elladan asked, “Why do you stable the sheep at night? Would it not be easier to keep them on the fields?”

Finn and Gareth sighed almost at the same time, and it was Finn who answered. “Yes, it would. But the times are dark and evil men roam the countryside. It would not be save to let the animals on the pastures at night.”

“You mean they get stolen?” Elladan asked worriedly.

“Stolen, slaughtered on the fields, maimed.” Gareth huffed. “Those men shrink back from nothing to make our life miserable.”

An uneasy silence fell between them. Finally, Finn stood and stretched his arms over his head. “If you ask me, I could do with some good ale and something to eat. I’m starving.”

“Yeah, let’s eat something.” Gareth seconded his brother’s words, then helped Elladan to his feet and into the house. While the brother’s words had troubled Elladan, he knew nothing that he could do to help them.

Late that night, when all the lights had been extinguished, Elladan still lay awake in bed. He had fallen asleep rather quickly after the evening meal, but had woken in the middle of the night because of the pain in his leg; he had been unable to get back to sleep ever since. While he lay in bed, staring at the ceiling and listening to the soft snores of the two brother’s, his mind returned to the evil men that roamed the countryside. Something inside him told him that he must do something against such injustice, but he could not tell why he felt that way. Maybe Finn and Gareth were right and he was a squire? Maybe he had even helped catch those outlaws and been injured in the process? But would that not mean that the outlaws were in the area, as well as his companions?

The more Elladan thought about all those things, the more confused he became. He did not feel like a squire at all. But, if he could not remember who he was, then maybe he could not remember what it felt like to be a squire, either? He sighed deeply and shifted into a more comfortable position, when he suddenly heard a sound, coming from outside.

He lay completely still and listened. It came again, louder this time. Hoofbeats! Quickly, Elladan turned his head and looked at Finn and Gareth, but both were vast asleep. It seemed they had not heard the horses. Strange, Elladan mused, for he could hear the horses quite clearly; and, they were getting closer to the house.

“Finn! Gareth!” Elladan hissed into the darkness. “Wake up.”

A grunt came from Gareth, but Finn opened his eyes sluggishly. “What?”

“I can hear horses.” Elladan said, sitting up in bed. “Someone is coming.”

“Now?” Yawning, Finn reached over and shook his brother awake. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, can’t you hear them?” Elladan was already reaching for his crutch, ready to get out of bed.

“No, I hear nothing.” Finn yawned again, but he obediently shuffled over to the window to take a look outside. He rubbed his eyes, then pushed the curtains away. For a moment, he said nothing, but then his eyes widened, “Blimey!”

“What?” It was Gareth time to ask.

“Brother, I think we are in big trouble.” Finn stated, before he quickly let go of the curtain and made a grab for his pants. “There are riders outside, with torches. Many torches.”

Within moments, Gareth, Finn and Elladan were clothed and peering out the different windows. Indeed, there were riders nearing the house, carrying torches. And not only torches, but clubs and swords as well. From the look on their faces, those riders were some of the outlaws that plagued the countryside. They were killers.

“What shall we do now?” Finn hissed, his face white with fear. “We cannot fight them, there are too many of them.”

“Do you have weapons?” Elladan asked, feeling strangely calm, so as if he had been in such situations before. Some part of him seemed to know what to do, even if he could not remember it.

“We have an old sword, but the blade is blunt and will be no use.” Gareth said, frowning. “Some kitchen knives and of course the forks in the barn. They are usually enough to get rid of stray dogs or even the occasional wolf.”

“But they will not be enough to fight those men out there.” Elladan stated, taking another look at the men. The riders had stopped their horses outside the fence that circled the house. Even while he watched, Elladan could see a few of the men dismount and vanish in the darkness.

“What are we going to do?” Finn said fearfully.

“What is there left to do?” Elladan asked, his voice stern. “We will fight, of course.”
-------
Elrond moved his hand through his hair and peered at the ground. They had followed the outlaws for a few days now, and he knew that they were getting closer. While the men had made longer pauses to rest the horses and themselves, the elves had only stopped for short breaks. Elrond knew, the sooner he found those outlaws, the sooner he could go back to find Elladan.

“Elrond? Have you found anything?” Reaching the lord’s side, Glorfindel squatted down next to him.

“Aye, I have indeed.” Elrond gestured at the imprints in the ground. “They turned to the East here, over the plains and back to the river.”

“Then we should do the same and follow them ere it begins to rain again and we lose their trail.” Glorfindel got to his feet and without waiting for Elrond to accept his words, he began to call the other elves to order. A few minutes later the group war riding East, back towards the river. The outlaws were only a short ways ahead of them, they all knew that, and they spurred their horses to go faster. All of them wanted to find the killers of the farmers.
-----
Elrohir was tired, as was his horse. But his heart told him to go on, that he could not stop his search now. His brother needed him! He had followed the river for numerous days, and while he had found traces of the broken dam, like tree trunks and broken branches, so far he had seen no sign of Elladan.

It was late in the afternoon, when he suddenly heard voices close to his position. Curious, he dismounted his horse and sneaked through the high grass that banked the river. He had only gone a little ways, when he saw a group of humans. Waiting, he listened to what they were saying.

“I say we burn the farm close to the river tonight, take what he get and then head back North. I don’t like the attention we get from the farmers and the King’s men. It is getting to dangerous around here.”

There was much murmuring and consent among the group of humans. While Elrohir watched and listened, the men mounted their horses and rode away Eastwards. With a hammering heart, Elrohir returned to his horse. These men wanted to rob a farm! Tonight! While everything inside of Elrohir screamed for him to not abandon his search for Elladan, that he was close indeed, another part of him could not stand idly by while a group of outlaws attacked innocent farmers. So, Elrohir mounted his horse and turned Eastwards, too.