Chapter One - The Masters of Fog, Gordamir

The trio of Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli trudged through stinking marshes, holding their weapons above the murky waters. "I don't like the look of these marshes, stay close and ready to fight." Aragorn muttered to the other two, who nodded, keeping a hand on their weapons. "I don't suppose there's a town nearby, Aragorn?" Gimli said quietly, smiling at his compadre. Aragorn smiled back. "No my friend, not that I know of."
They moved for what seemed like hours though the marsh, stepping in holes and getting rained on, until Gimli got fed up. "Where does this blasted marsh end!" He yelled, and got Legolas's hand clamed over his mouth. "Shut up you arrogant fool!" He hissed, looking through the fog, straining his elfish eyes. "What do you see?" Aragorn questioned, moving towards him. "DUCK!" Legolas pushed the both of them down, in time enough to dodge several arrows. "What business does an Elf, a Dwarf, and a Man have in the city of Gordamir?" A voice questioned through the fog, drawing closer. "Gordamir? Where is this?" Aragorn asked, standing up, only to have a sword pressed to his throat. "You are still in Middle Earth, Man. Gordamir is only a few miles south of Mordor." Legolas stood, his bow and arrows in hand, ready to fire. "Should you strike, you will be dead before your sword has time to whistle." He growled threatingly, but stopped as many other blades appeared before his face and throat. "You have quite a courageous heart, Elf. For that I will spare your lives." The man chuckled, apparently motioning for the others to drop their weapons. "Come. Any who do not bear the white hand are welcome in Gordamir." Gimli snorted apprehensively. "And how do you know we are not spies?" The man turned, and they saw him for the first time. He was a figure dressed in a long, black cloak, bearing a symbol of a two-headed dog. "Because we have been watching you since you first stepped into our marshes."

"You are to go to the Inn in the center of the city. Until our royal leaders deem you worthy, you cannot speak to them about going to your homes. You are not to leave the city otherwise." He sniffed, and cracked his neck. "We will be watching."

The man sent a messenger into the city, keeping our hero's with him in a guard tower. "Who are you sending for? Why can't one of your men show us the inn?" Gimli questioned angrily, brandishing his axe. The man turned around, pushing his hood back, revealing a scarred face. "We do not know our way around the city." He replied bluntly, walking to a fountain, and splashing himself with water. Aragorn sighed, and walked to Legolas and Gimli. "What are we doing south of Mordor?" He questioned, receiving a shrug from Gimli. "The Rohan Riders sent us in this direction. We might as well trust their decision and look about." Legolas nodded, looking out of a small window to his right. "Whoever fights against the eye is a friend of mine."
The messenger entered the room, followed by a figure cloaked in royal blue. "Follow me." The figure said, though it's voice not distiguisible neither man nor woman. It turned, hastily, out of the room, the cloak billowing out behind them. Legolas looked at Aragorn, shrugged, and walked after the person. Gimli followed, and grabbed Aragorn to follow. "No matter how much you distrust these people, we must go to the Inn. It is our only way of living here." Aragorn shook his head, and followed the figure down the stairs of the guard tower.
"Wait here." The person said gruffly, entering a building with a sign that read, 'Broiling Head Inn' "Charming name." Gimli muttered, looking at the sign. "Lets hope it is more hospitable than it sounds." Legolas muttered, looking around the dank streets. He turned back to the Inn as shouts were heard, and the scuffing of chairs. "Move out of the way of the door." He told the other two, watching as their guide was thrown into the street, scraping their arm along the cobblestone, and throwing back their hood. Their eye's widened as they saw that it was a girl, looking not much younger than Legolas. She sneered at the door, and got up, ripping the ruined cloak off her shoulders, revealing a traveling garb underneath, complete with an array of weapons, one of which, she was pulling out, a long sword, in it was sapphires and rubies, and a strange dragon was etched across the blade. "No one throws me out." She growled, her voice changing to match her appearance. "A woman!" Gimli gasped, and looked at the sword as she ran in. "She's going to kill the innkeeper!" Aragorn shouted, and ran into the inn, followed by Legolas, then the astounded Gimli.

An elvish sword is most uncommon, Especially in these parts.
I agree. There is something amiss, but I cannot sense it.

They appeared in the doorway, Legolas already halfway across the room, where the girl was standing with the apparent owner of the inn. "I threw you out! I'm not going to serve to a man, a dwarf, and an elf!" The girl looked angry, and raised her sword to the man's throat. "The Princess says you will." The man scoffed. "I do not follow the princess's orders anymore." "Then you shall be slayed." She said bluntly, raising her sword above her head. Aragorn and Legolas dove for her, Aragorn tackling her to the ground, and Legolas, grabbing the blade from her hands. "Get off of me!" She yelled, struggling under both of their weight. Legolas looked up at Gimli, and handed him her sword. "It's a fine blade. Could be useful in battle." He stated, and grinned. "To bad it is taller than you are." Legolas joked, receiving a laugh from Aragorn, who was busy binding the girl's hands together. She snarled, and shifted her shoulders, knocking him off balance. "Couldn't breath." She said, gasping slightly. Legolas smiled, and helped her up as Aragon got off her back. "Now. I should find you suitable lodging." She said, dusting herself off, and glaring at the man. "I'll get you later, Don." She turned swiftly, her golden hair flying away from her face for only a second. But it was enough time for Aragorn to see what lay beneath. "Come. I fear we must leave." She sniffed, and walked out of the door, turning only to watch them stride of the door. "You will have to stay with me." She said, looking around the street, seeing people watch them. "Violence has taken place, they will not let you board with them." She began walking the way they had come, closely followed by Aragorn. "Maiden, what is your name?" He questioned, walking next to her. "Kaladram. And you are Aragorn, heir to the throne of Gondor; Legolas, of the Woodland Realm, and Gimli, the son of Gloind. I know of you all." Legolas raised an eyebrow in question. "Word of outsiders travels fast, even if their names have never been spoken within the walls." She smiled, and laughed. "It is the nature of Gordamirians to be cautious."

She walked out of the large gate they had come in from, but turned right, and headed behind the great fortress. Aragorn smiled as they reached her house. It was small, low-lying, much like a hobbit's home. And yet, it had a large tree behind it, in which was another house-like structure. All around this was green grass, and many small flowers. "Kaladram, you seem to have wonderful gardening skills." Her pale blue eye's seemed to be smiling as he said that, and she nodded. "Yes, thank you, Gimli." She walked to the house, leaving them in the marsh for a second. "Suck-up." Legolas muttered to him, only to receive a grin from him. "Takes one to know one, laddie." Aragorn laughed, and quieted the two as Kaladram appeared again, and motioned to the house on the ground. "You will stay in my cottage. Remove your weapons, and I will do the same." She stared at them, waiting patiently, and holding a rather large box, with a smaller box inside, which contained many different swords and arrows. "That arrow, where did you find it?" Legolas questioned, pointing to a peculiar arrow. It was thin and long, made for spearing, with a feather tied to it's end, and a rather large, black tail, speckled with red. "Ahh, you have a keen eye. The arrow of Mortis. It can go through three orks and still come out the other end, completely clean. A little bloody, perhaps, but it slides right off." She chuckled, and lifted the arrow from the box. "I made it and three others like it." She put it back down, and strangely, it shrunk to fit inside the box. "Kaladram, are you-" "Put your weapons in the box, my lords. And I shall do the same." Aragorn sighed, and began unattaching the weapons from his belt. Gimly handed her his axe, and threw in a pair of daggers. But Legolas would not be parted from his bow and arrows. "Come come, now. They shall not be harmed. I put the bows and arrows in a shed, and it is well protected." Kaladram motioned outside, and put the box on the floor. "It is behind the great tree, here, take my bow as well." She tossed him her bow and arrows. His eye's widened, and he looked at her. "It's so light." She smiled, and laughed, picking the box again. She put the box on a table, and took her sheathed sword from her belt, removed a dagger from a pocket on her arm, one on her thigh, and another on her ankle. Aragorn's eyes widened at all the weaponry she possessed, as she pulled out a short sword, and several arrows. "That's quite a lot of weapons." He said, fingering one of his daggers, and looking at the pile. "One could never be to careful, Aragorn."

Later that day, Legolas lay in a hammock set up in the tree, twirling a twig between his fingers. He looked up as Kaladram shut the door to her house. She looked down at him, and smiled. "Good afternoon, lord Legolas." He tilted his head. "Why….lord?" He questioned, letting the twig fall to the ground. Kaladram jumped from the tree to the ground. "You all are under my charge. You are my masters until the time comes for you to leave." She smiled, and grabbed a basket that was left on the ground, and a short dagger. "I will be gathering crops for tonight's supper." Legolas nodded, and settled back into the hammock, watching as she disappeared into the fog beyond her land. "That was very princely, Elf." He turned around, and smiled, seeing Gimli. "I suppose you could do better?" He challenged. Gimli smiled at his friend. "I am not here to challenge you for a maidens heart, simply…to ridicule at your obvious lack of interaction with women!" He began to laugh heartily. "This coming from a race who's women look like their men?"