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Interrupted Journeys 11: In Foreign Lands by elliska	9 Review(s)
Nora	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 9/18/2013
This is by far the best story I've found so far. I check every day to see if there is a new chapter. I'm impatiently waiting for the next chapter. I'm a bit worried since you said you were sick last time and it's been so long without a new chapter yet again. I hope you are alright. Get well soon! Author Reply: Thanks so much! I'm so glad you are enjoying. I do intend to post the next chapter tonight. I am taking a break, giving it one last read through, and then clicking 'publish.' Thanks so much for the reviews and the well wishes. Hopefully I am really on top of things this time, but your review made my day when I saw it.

CandissD	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 9/3/2013
Sorry to take so long to review - I got behind on reading but just finished the last 2 chapters - love the elves in Dale and all of the sights the elves are seeing as every day life which is very different from their own. Finally they made Forwed understand what he is asking for the 5 trees! Will be looking forward to more :) Author Reply: Sorry to take so long to reply. I wasn't as together as I thought I was. I'm glad you are enjoying the elves in Dale. I love playing with cultural differences. That stuff is so fascinating. Thanks so much for the reviews. I really appreciate them!

katrina	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 8/23/2013
I loved the comparison between how men see things compared to elves (whether it is time, or the place of women, or the value of trees)! I was impressed and happy to know that Berior is taking up his father's role well- this chapter really made me see how mature Legolas and his friends have become! I also really liked the mention of Forwed's daughter in this chapter, and how she overheard the conversation of elven women and their rights. I wonder if this will light a spark in her, if you will, and lead to some interesting occurrences later on! So glad that you are feeling better! Author Reply: Sorry to be so long in replying. I enjoyed playing with all the little (and bigger) differences Legolas would see in Dale. That sort of stuff is so much fun. Legolas and his cousins are quite mature. :-) I like seeing them grown up. And, unless she gets cut, Forwed's daughter will make an appearance again, now as a grown woman, in the story when the dwarves populate the Lonely Mountain. Thanks so much for the reviews. I appreciate them so much!

Morn	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 8/22/2013
I hope you're feeling better now. I was really glad to see the new chapter. Legolas and his cousins really seem to have grown up, especially Berior stepping into his father's role. The difference of perspective between men and elves was great. Trees being just resources vs having value in themselves. And the different views on women is interesting too, especially as it seems he may try and undermine the queen. Being female in a human society like theirs doesn't sound appealing. The elves handle it really well when comparing with the apple trees to make the men understand. I loved the children telling them elves are magic and legolas realising that little things like the way they blend into the trees could seem this way. Moralfien really is a nasty piece of work. If i were Dolgallion sitting liatening to her talk of her grief at the kinslayings I wouldn't have had anywhere near that kind of restraint. Fpr her to lie so calmly and well must be so unnerving. Things must be bad in this village if they are having to sneak like that. I dread to think what state it's in. Author Reply: Sorry to be so long in replying. So much for feeling better... I'm glad you enjoyed the last chapter. I had a lot of fun showing the cultural differences in Dale. That sort of thing has always fascinated me. I also had fun with the magical elves. Imagine the stories mannish children must hear about elves. :-) Things are definitely worse than Dolgailon expected in his village. That will cause some changes in plans in the upcoming stories. Thanks so much for the reviews. I really do appreciate them. They make my day. :-)

Cbellea	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 8/21/2013
I am so glad that you have updated again! I was beginning to get worried for you, and was thinking of messaging you just to ask if you were okay! I hope that you are :) As always, I loved all the detail you bring into every chapter! Seeing Legolas and his cousins expressions to mannish towns, and their reactions to the elves, are great! One thing I was wondering about througout this whole thing is- how old is Legolas now, in terms of both elven years and man years? I know he hasnt reached his majority yet ( what does that even correspond to? 18? 21?) but the way he interacted w the kids makes him seem really mature! And to put light into all of this, how old is Lindomiel now? She was about 100 when we first met her, right?! Manadhien makes me angry- she is so conniving! But at the same time, I do feel sorry for her. She has been driven to maddness by her grief, it seems. Author Reply: :-) I used to take students traveling abroad and it was always fun to see their reactions to a different culture. So I had a lot of fun with Legolas in Dale. Legolas is 46 in this one. As for equivalents...I tend to think of him being like someone about 18 years old at this point. Practically an adult. Perfectly capable of acting on his own. But not quite always mature. :-) And Lindomiel. Yes, she was almost 100, Amglaur says, in T.A.144, during the first story. So, that makes her about 1950 years old here. Still a baby from Engwe's POV. ;-) I like this think of her as still playful, even now. I hope to keep a good deal of her in the next chapter. We'll see what gets cut. As for Manadhien...Good. I am going to be showing more of her from here on out. She is horrible. But I do want people to be able to see why. There are good reasons. Thanks so much for the review! It really meant a lot to me, coming back from such a long break.

Fantasia	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 8/21/2013
Elliska, first, I hope that you are better and wish you a fast recovery. Hurry up, summer is not a good time to be sick! (there is never a good time to be sick, I guess) I have enjoyed Legolas' interaction with Men a lot, every single detail and it was a very nice surprise to see Sadron again, and with kids! Forwed is showing as a very impatient man, doing a transaction between soldier to ruler, but he doesn't seem unkind, just inexperienced. Barad seems a very invaluable ally to Forwed, he definitely has experience at court and with Elves, his comments about Lord Elrond are perfect, I have to laugh about taking time for the man to die before answering, a strategy that Thranduil seems to use too. Also, he knows, even if he doesn't understand, that elves are not interested in building Empires, just to live unchanging for the rest of their immortal lives (how different are men form elves, gosh, how boring elves are!) maybe he needs to know Lady Galabriel and a few Noldors to change his mind:) There are so many details that are just perfect, the comments about women and their roles, the signs on the doors, the market, the busy life in a city, it is just a great chapter. But the best of all, is Berior taking his Father's place and doing it admirably well, he is a credit to Thranduil's House. Now, Dolgailon and Moralfien, that is a bad situation, she is just evil. The worst thing is that you've commented that she is mad and that makes thing complicated, you can apply logic against a cunning rivals, but not against a raving rivals, they are unpredictable. She is the other side of the coin, we have seen how kingslaying has affected Tharnduil household, and it is a fine line to walk and you can easily turn to the wrong side, revenge and hate taking over, and I think that it is exactly what happened to her, the worst, she believes to be right. Waiting for more, but first, please, take care of yourself and be well. Author Reply: :-) Thank you. I had a bunch of fun with Legolas and men. Of course we know he has to be able to interact with other cultures. Doing so is in his future. ;-) It is fun to make Legolas see his father's point about men being so variable. Forwed is a decent person, generally speaking. Just inexperienced and impatient, as you said. Legolas is actually older than Forwed by a few years, and he has served his father's court a long time. He actually is more experienced than Forwed already. Barad is older than Forwed by about a dozen years and he has served in Gondor and Arthedain's courts. He has lots of experience. He is a very important ally for Forwed, but Forwed has insulted him, as we'll see details of in the next chapter. Anyway... I'm glad you enjoyed all the details. There was so much I wanted to work into this, that I thought elves would find bizarre. And you are right about Manadhien. On every point. Thank you so much for the review! I appreciate them so much, especially after dropping off the planet for so long.

KGR	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 8/21/2013
I loved the new chapter. Can't tell you how excited I was when I saw that you'd gotten a new chapter up. I hope you can get another one up quickly. Moralfien is such a snake. I can't wait till she finally gets her comeuppance. I'm glad there some Elves at least that are still loyal to the king and to Dolgailon. Very worrying that they feel they cannot even greet Dolgailon openly. Good to see that Dolgailon is taking no chances with his safety and that he's on alert. Loved seeing the young elves reaction to a different culture. I thought they all handled Forwed as well as could be expected. But Forwed really needs to learn some respect and some patience. I couldn't believe that he had such a low view of the queen's authority. I know women at that time were not very respected but come on Forwed she's a queen and you just insulted her in front of her son. And then he ran off in a snit and I thought man Forwed grow up. But he did redeem himself slightly by the end of the chapter, but he still has a lot to learn. Loved Legolas' interaction with the children. He was really quite good with them. I laughed when they asked him to do magic. love your stories. God bless. Author Reply: I was excited to be back at it too. I hope to get the next chapter up reasonably on time. Normally I try for one week between chapters. I think I am still moving a little slowly, so maybe more like ten days this time, But still, mostly on time. Fingers crossed. :-) She is a nasty person. Completely, irrevocably lost. She will get hers. But not until the very last story. Sorry. :-) Dolgailon is definitely being careful and he does need to be. Manadhien is really mad now. I had fun with Legolas and his cousins in a foreign culture too. Those types of things are always worth a few laughs. Forwed has a lot to learn. He is a decent person, just really inexperienced and not smart enough to know it's best to keep your mouth shut. Thranduil would be with you on the way Forwed spoke about Lindomiel. He would have no tolerance for such an attitude at all. We will see Forwed again--he will be the King of Dale still in 1999, when the dwarves show up. Children have to very interesting to Legolas. In my little world, he's never seen anyone younger than Berior and Brethil (they're the same age) and they are only a little less than two years younger than Legolas. And then the children's crazy ideas! Legolas had fun. And, of course, Forwed's son, Beodor, will be old enough in 1999 to be important then. And he will remember Legolas. Thank you so much for the review! They made my day, especially after being away for so long.

Alwir	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 8/21/2013
So glad to see this updated. I have loved this story from the beginning. Author Reply: It is always so much fun to hear from someone new! Especially when I am feeling bad about being gone so long. Thank you so much! I'm glad you are enjoying and I hope you continue to! Thanks so much for the review! I really appreciate them!

daw the minstrel	Reviewed Chapter: 2 on 8/21/2013
Dolgailon has more self control than I have since he didn't slap Moralfien silly. Things look serious in that village if people have to sneak in to tell him about it. Now Legolas had a better time even if there was some tension there too, given the different attitudes toward the natural world. On the LOTR EE, PJ talks about the rat catcher's shop in Minas Tirith, so I guess that's what it was. Poor Legolas will probably poke at the meat on his plate a little the next time he dines. It always makes me laugh when men voice some "terrible" suspicion (like Elrond--or Thranuil--wait out unreasonable requests because the man who made it will die "soon" anyway) and Legolas knows it's true. I suspect Thranduil doesn't think about creating a "greater realm" quite in the same way Forwed does. The little kids made me laugh with their pleas that Legolas "do magic." He's charming in the way he sits down among them to chat. "She got into far more than anyone could save her from," Legolas said. "She betrothed herself to Galithil." LOL. Good one, Legolas. Legolas's description of elves in the forest sounds magical even if they can't do magic. I have trouble understanding elf magic myself, but you can't argue with the Great Doors. There they are, and they open by the king's magic. I liked it that Legolas was sad for the silent apple trees and was thrilled when Nador showed a feel for a tree, even if he may not have known he was doing it. I have a tree house book in which a child's playhouse is built in an apple tree. The branches come inside and flower in there. Berior's mention of the flets strengthened his argument even from my point of view. I was happy to see this today. Write on! Author Reply: Yeah, Dolgailon is going to be pretty impressed with how bad things are. So is Thranduil. She is a real piece of work. No doubt about that. Yes, you are right about the rat sign. Does PJ talk about that? Hilarious. I've watched those, but a long time ago. I've got to do that again. I love the 'behind the scenes' commentary. And it is so good on those discs. It would be really hard not to be suspicious about the meat served to you, wouldn't it? I plan on having some fun with that in the next chapter, unless it gets cut. I giggle at those terrible suspicions too. You just can't help it. And no, Thranduil's idea of great is much different from Forwed's, no doubt about that. I think Legolas would be very charmed by those children. In my little world, he hasn't seen anyone much younger than himself. Their innocence must be very attractive. Glad you liked that line. That part of that conversation nearly got cut as not entirely relevant, but I couldn't do it but Legolas's comment amused me too much. :-) Wood Elf magic. It is fun because some of it is just skills/experience men will never comprehend because they won't live long enough to develop it. Some of it is just plain magic, like the doors, as you said. I love it. Tolkien did a great job with that. I have a tree house book in which a child's playhouse is built in an apple tree. The branches come inside and flower in there. Awesome! I need that tree house! I enjoyed writing Legolas, Nador and the young apple trees. Legolas has recently seen a lot of evil in men and in Forwed and even Barad he sees/will both greatness and foolishness. Nador is a bit of hope for him. And Sadron too. They might not really understand it, as you said, but they do have enough of a connection to their land to have a feel for it. I was happy to finally feel it was ready to post. :-) Hopefully, I will be writing on (schedule). ;-) Thanks so much for the review, daw! I really appreciate them, especially this time after being out of it for so long.

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