"My lords. Ah, good morning." I looked at Elrond, who stood on the side of the bed closest to the arches, with Fingalan and Garnellin behind him. I wasn't sure if I was to play the invalid again or what and glanced at Elrond hoping for a sign. He just smiled. Deciding to play it in the middle, I sank back against the pillows and said hoarsely, "To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"We have a minor problem on one of the higher farms, Marie. There has been a wolf sighted and the sheep have stampeded. We are gathering those who can be spared to go help round up the ewes. Do you feel well enough to work this morning?" His smile broadened a fraction. Fingalan was watching me, his hands behind his back. Garnellin, like the last time I saw him, was frowning. Catching his glance, he dropped his eyes to the floor. Well. Needless to say, I felt fine. "Yes, yes of course. If you'll give me a few minutes to wash up, I shall be ready to go."
Elrond waved the two away. "Fingalan and Garnellin will wait for you out by the stables and breakfast is on its way."
Fingalan and Garnellin bowed sharply, turned and left.
"Rounding up lost sheep, eh? I am not sure if I shall be more hindrance than help. I'm afraid I am a city girl."
"Sheep are not one of the most intelligent of creatures. They will not have gone far. I have sent those on the farm who can be spared to search for the wolf. You, Fingalan and Garnellin will remain at the farm and help there as the animals come in. A little farm work will be good for Fingalan. And you."
I nodded "Garnellin is not well, the friendliest of elves. I don't think he has spoken once in my presence."
"He says he does not speak old Dwarvish, Marie. And he is not happy with Fingalan's behavior. We had a talk last night." Elrond turned to leave. As he reached the corridor, he cocked his head at me around one of the pillars supporting an arch and said dryly, "And I shall not expect you to come back with injuries."
I laughed and said. "I'll be careful!"
I got up and grabbed the clean clothes at the end of the bed, this time it was pair of pants and a long tunic. At last, something practical to wear.
By the time I was cleaned up, breakfast was waiting. And dare I say, I wolfed it down I was so anxious to be out and about to show how useful I could be.
As I hurried to the stables, I figured it was just going to be Fingalan and I, which slowed me down. How should I act around him? Actually I was mostly curious to see how HE was going to react to me. There was a part of me that felt maybe he really hadn't set me up. But I would swear I heard laughing before I passed out. And he hadn't seemed much concerned when I came to. I don't know.
As I entered the stables, I found that Master Cerwal had already saddled Belingala for me. "Good morning mistress!"
"Good morning Master Cerwal, I am looking forward to a ride!"
He bent and gave me a leg up. Finally, I turned to the slightly sullen elf waiting quietly on his stallion. "Well, good morning Fingalan and Garnellin! You both are mighty quiet today!"
Glowering a bit at that, Fingalan said, "How are you...Marie." Garnellin merely nodded.
"Quite well, thank you." I clucked to Belingala and headed out. "And thanks for your help last night."
He said nothing further, but spurred Thalgarn past me, Garnellin following. I smiled at his stiff back and trotted behind as they went down the path and then turned towards the head of the gorge. Pleased we were going to see something new, I hummed to myself. Today, I was going to be so darn helpful I would surprise even Fingalan.
It took an hour for us to reach the high pastures where the sheep were kept. And the views from up there were spectacular. Towards the Misty Mountains and down where I could see how Rivendell nestled amongst the nooks and crannies of the gorge. It was a much larger place than I had imagined.
Since the elves managing the sheep station, as it were, did not speak old Dwarvish, I let Fingalan and Garnellin do all the talking.
We were led around to the sheep meadows and shown where the fence had broken, to give us an idea in which direction the sheep may have gone. The elf told Fingalan that we didn't need to stay here. He needed us to search for strays. So, we were going to search on foot the many ravines and small copses of scrub pine for any wayward sheep. The rancher then handed Fingalan a length of rope, which he threw over his shoulder. Garnellin, I noticed, stayed put.
"Do we stay together or go our own way?"
Fingalan shook his head emphatically, as the other two strode off. "Lord Elrond told me we must work together. Garnellin will help out here."
"All right." I got the rucksack Master Cerwal had tied to my pommel. Inspecting it briefly I found a leather-wrapped bottle of water, or perhaps wine. Something icy and cold. And several leaf-wrapped packages, which I was hoping held lembas since I had not had any of that fine elvish waybread yet.
Fingalan had already gone ahead, so I didn't explore the rest of the sack, but slung it over my shoulder and followed Fingalan's lead. I smiled as I tramped through the spring grass and flowers. This was like being in the Fellowship! Well, sort of, well the hiking part anyway!! All we needed were a couple of hobbits, and Aragorn and Boromir, of course and...
Just under the leaves of a stand of oak, Fingalan stopped and I ran into his outstretched arm. Immediately going silent, I heard the plaintive bleating of a sheep. We both approached a stand of bushes growing through a jumble of boulders, and found a ewe stuck by her horns in the brush. It took us a good 20 minutes to untangle the wiggling, frightened animal. And sheep are smelly and kind of greasy and it cracked me up that when she finally got loose, she ran between Fingalan's legs and straight back to the farm.
"Well," I said grinning and wiping dirt off my face. "That wasn't so bad!"
Fingalan rolled his eyes as we set off again, but I could swear he was trying to hide a smile.
After we found two more sheep, one of them dead from a fall, I asked Fingalan if we could stop for lunch. Nodding, he sat on a boulder and I opened the rucksack in front of him and pulled out the leaf-wrapped packages and the bottle, which I handed to him. I was thrilled to find lembas in one leaf-wrapped package and slices of cheese and some dried fruit in another. Not fond of cheese, I handed that to Fingalan and eagerly tried the lembas. Cool! Flaky and slightly sweet, but substantial. I only ate three and I was full. Fingalan only ate one, but of course he'd eaten them a hundred times. Rummaging in the bottom of the rucksack, I sucked in my breath in amazement as I pulled out a sheathed elvish knife!! Wow!!! I slid it out carefully and looked at the inlaid handle and the slightly curved blade, laid over with runes. It sparkled in the sunlight. I just sat in awe. It was gorgeous, and darn it, it was mine! (All right, Fingalan had one on his belt anyway!). I put it slo! wly back in the rucksack disappointed I didn't have a belt I could put it on.
After lunch, we set off hiking again. We were getting higher up into the gorge and it had been a couple of hours with no more sightings and I was wondering if we were really going to find any more sheep in this direction. As Fingalan climbed a high pile of boulders, I asked, "Enough looking in this area? Maybe we should try more to the south."
"All right---wait, I see something over to your right, there's a narrow ravine..."
"Great!" I scampered off in the direction he indicated and sure enough, there was a sheep, down at the bottom of this small crevasse,bleating piteously.
Scrambling over the cracked granite and shrubs, I got down to the animal. Other than a couple of scrapes on its legs, it was fine. I braced myself against one wall of the crevasse and sort of shoved the sheep up the other wall. Fingalan showed up then and seeing what I was about, tied the rope to a stout tree at the top and rappelled down to me. He wrapped an arm around the sheep and dragged it up after him. Once they were at the top, he called down "I will send this sheep on its way! I will only be a few minutes!"
"Right! No problem!"
I knew it would take him a little while to get out of the rocks and out to the level pasture where the sheep could be set loose. I leaned against the warm rock wall and watched the clouds sailing by. Once again, I was delighted by my circumstances. I had gotten over my 'ugly human' feelings and worries about what I was doing here. What will be; will be. I was going to work hard not to do anything precipitous, but I was going to enjoy myself. I smiled at my elvish boots (wow! Honest-to-goodness elvish boots, not cheap imitations!). Thank goodness, Elrond had come up with this project with Fingalan though. It certainly helped my outlook to be doing something productive. And actually Fingalan had been more pleasant today. I had only seen one smirk this afternoon! And for some reason, I was glad Garnellin was not around. His sulleness got on my nerves.
I pulled the rucksack around and pulled out the leather-wrapped bottle, which was fruit wine, perhaps blackberry. I took a few big slugs of it and then corked it. I pushed myself off the rock face, deciding to get out of the crevasse and sit under the shade of the tree to wait for Fingalan. I pulled on the rope, ready to climb, and the darn thing slithered off the tree and pooled in a heap at my feet. Great knot, Fingalan! Obviously he was never a boy scout! But, he was from Mirkwood, which makes it kind of hard to believe he couldn't tie a good knot... Shaking my head, I coiled it up and leaned back against the near side of the crevasse to get out of the sun and scrunched down to wait. Grinning, I imagined needling Fingalan about his rope tying skills. I must have sat there for over an hour, when the thought struck me that perhaps Fingalan was not coming back, or had been delayed, or perhaps, God forbid, injured!
I tried to scramble out, it took me a few tries, but eventually I was able to find enough handholds to get me out.
Looking around, I could see no sign of Fingalan, but I did notice the sun was setting. Time to head back to the farm. Carefully going down among the tumbled boulders, I used handy bushes to guide me and keep me from slipping. Debating whether I should go back to the farm first, I decided I should make a thorough search before showing up without him.
Once I got to fairly level ground, I started calling out for Fingalan, in case he had been hurt. The twilight was deepening as I traversed another crevasse, one where we actually found the dead sheep. I gave it a cursory glance and then stopped, heart in my throat. Lord, it looked as if there was a body down there, and I didn't mean the ewe! Actually, there looked as if there were two!
"Fingalan! Fingalan! Is that you?" There was no reply, but I could swear one of the bodies moved and I thought I could hear moaning. Taking the elvish rope, I tied it around a stunted tree growing through a crack nearby and the let it play out to the bottom. Rappelling down, I had reached the halfway point, when I heard growling! The wolf!! I froze. What should I do! What if he was savaging Fingalan!!! Yuck! I slowly went back up to the tree and quickly rummaged in the rucksack and pulled out the elvish knife. All righty then! Showtime! I bit on the knife, pirate-fashion and went back down. I could easily hear the growling. Stopping again at the halfway point, I turned to look down and saw that it was indeed a large wolf.
And Fingalan lay nearby. The wolf thankfully was worrying the sheep carcass and had ignored the still form of the elf, so far. What was Fingalan doing lying here? Removing the knife from my mouth and taking a deep breath, I decided loud noise might work, so I started screaming and waving my arms around as I slipped down the rope. This had the desired effect and the animal leapt away from the sheep carcass and whined. I jumped the last few feet and waved the knife, which gleamed in the twilight. I tried to remember that elvish shout they always made in battle. Was it A Elbereth a Gilthoniel!?? (Have I mentioned my Elvish is not up to speed?) Anyway, I shouted that as loud as I could and brandished my knife. "Come on you mangy dog! Come at me and leave Fingalan alone!" Was I nuts? How many times had I attacked a wolf? I don't know why I was doing this except, well, I couldn't leave Fingalan laying there, defenseless!
And then I realized the wolf was trapped by its inability to get out of the crevasse. Oh good, a cornered wolf! Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. Stupidly, I approached the animal hoping it would lunge and then I could go for the throat. And it did.
I raised the knife and aimed for the fanged mouth and I shoved with all my might.
It worked!!! I can't believe it, but it did!! The animal came at me and practically impaled itself on my knife. It flung me back against the rocks, its blood spurting all over me. (Yuck again!!!) It flung me back so hard, I banged my head and saw stars and it took me a moment to get my bearings. Trembling with adrenaline rush, I shakily got out from the bleeding animal and pulled my knife out of its body. I could barely see by now, but I stared at the knife anyway. Wow, I had just killed a wolf!! A ferocious, hungry wolf!! No one I know would believe me!
It was a very primitive moment. And I shouted a wordless yell of triumph.
Looking up at the fading edge of the ravine, I saw somebody standing there. "Quick! Get help! Fingalan is injured!! The wolf's down here too!"
The person (I assume an elf) said nothing but disappeared. Oh good, at least we weren't going to left down here too much longer. I eased my way from the now smelly dead wolf, and tried to rouse Fingalan. From my tentative touches, as I could barely see now, he was lying face down. I tried to roll him over, but he was wedged between a rock and the crevasse wall. I brushed the hair off his face. At least his skin was not too cold. Because I couldn't see, I didn't know what else to do, except sit next to him. I wiped off the elvish knife as well as I could and then realized I had nowhere to put it, as I had dropped its sheath as I came down. Lord. Shivering, I hunched next to Fingalan. My head hurt, so I lay it on top of my knees. And put a hand on Fingalan's back. My hand touched his hair, which was soft and silky and I idly straightened it with my fingers. Poor guy! Then aware of what I was doing, I snatched my hand away and wrapped it around my calf. Hang on Fingalan! Aid will be coming soon!
Waiting in the mountain cold, shivering, with an unconscious elf and a dead wolf was not the most enjoyable event in my life, but it sure was, well, different! It felt like an hour went past before I heard voices.
"Here! Here we are! Help!!"
Oh-oh, I heard no answering old Dwarvish. Sighing, I stood up, my legs stiff with cold, my head aching. Torches and figures resolved themselves on the edge of the crevasse. Wait, what a dummy, my rope was still there. I felt around for a few minutes, and once I found it, I painfully climbed back up. I stood swaying on the opposite side of the crevasse from the rescuers, who, with their bobbling lights, could now see where Fingalan lay and the dead wolf too. The first of the elves got to Fingalan and after examining him, carefully rolled him over. The torch plainly showed me a big surprise! It wasn't Fingalan, it was Garnellin! And I was able to quickly discern that Fingalan was not among the rescuers! What was happening? Where was Fingalan and why was Garnellin laying there, blood trickling from a head wound behind his left ear?
I quickly went to where the other rescuers were, and with the help of the torchlights, looked for Fingalan. He wasn't there! I got an extra torch from a pile nearby and lit it off a burning one. Leaving them to rescue Garnellin, I went back carefully towards the sheep station, keeping my eyes out for the wayward elf. Which wasn't easy as it was almost full night. And lo and behold, I found him. Rather, I stumbled over him. He lay crumpled up under a large oak on the edge of big sheep meadow we had been shown earlier. Shaking him, I roused him enough so that he sat up. "Fingalan, what has happened to you? And to Garnellin!"
He sat there blinking at me, confused. He brought a hand up to his head and said uncertainly, "I-I do not know! I was going back to the ravine where we found the sheep, and then, then, someone hit me on the head!"
"Wow! Listen, I found Garnellin in the ravine with the dead sheep!! The wolf was there and I jumped down and killed the wolf! Can you believe it?"
I was going a little too fast for him and he frowned at me. "Wha-what? The wolf got Garnellin?"
"No, no, I got the wolf. Someone else got Garnellin!"
Shaking his head, he stood slowly, leaning on the tree. I realized he really needed some help, so I put my right shoulder under his left arm and helped him get back to the ranch house. When I got there I asked the head elf if anyone had alerted Elrond to what was going on. Damn, then I remembered he didn't speak old Dwarvish.
"Fingalan tell him I am going back down to the main House." Fingalan nodded and started speaking.
I ran out and found Belingala in a paddock near the barn, where thankfully, a few lanterns burned. Having no idea where her tack was, I whistled to her, after opening the gate and then climbed the fence deciding I'd ride elvish style, with no saddle. She waited patiently until I was ready to go and when I clapped my heels to her, she took off like the wind as if she knew something was wrong and speed was of the essence.
She's a great horse, and even in the dark, which was really scary for me because I couldn't see the trail that well, it only took about a half hour to get to the main courtyard before the House. And though not used to bareback riding, I was proud that I hadn't fallen off! I sprang off the horse, feeling very officious and important (my legs were only a little rubbery) and ran up the stairs. Stopping for a moment to remember which way to Elrond's study, I took off. I passed several surprised elves, calling out, "Elrond?" as I passed, hoping someone would know where he was. I followed their pointing fingers.
Taking a deep breath when I reached a large Hall I had not been in, I slowed down and tried to enter quietly. Elrond was standing with a group of elves in conversation. There was a fire burning at one end and the walls were hung with dark tapestries I could not make out clearly. Arches on the west wall looked out over the Bruinen, and I realized we were high up in the main House. There were some candles lit and a few chairs in groups, otherwise the room was bare. I brushed my hair back and biting my lip, I walked up quietly to Elrond's group. Hearing me, he turned with a look of horror on his face and I immediately whirled around thinking something bad was coming up behind me. But there was nothing there.
Turning confused, I found myself practically in Elrond's embrace. He grabbed me by the arms and searched my face. Slightly mesmerized, I stood looking at him (This is not a difficult job! He is an eyeful!)
"Marie! What has happened to you! Where are you hurt?" He led me over to a chair and sat me down before I could say anything. He shook his head as he examined my face. "I told you to be careful, and here---"
I started to laugh (and you should have seen his face when I did that!) "No, no! I am fine, except well for this bump on the head," I brought my hand up to the goose egg on the back of my skull. "No, I'm here because someone threw Garnellin down a ravine and hit Fingalan on the head as he was coming back from the ranch to get me, and-"
His hand had already gone to the bump on my head, but I ducked, saying "No, no really I'll survive! It's the other two you need to see to! Come on!" I jumped out of the chair and grabbed him by the hand and started to lead him out into the corridor.
Well, obviously, you don't just yank Elrond anywhere. He stopped, his eyes boring into mine. "All right Marie. Tell me again, from the beginning what has happened and why you are covered in blood." The other elves had come out into the corridor to hear my tale. Of course, I didn't imagine they all spoke old Dwarvish. But curiosity is curiosity. And I had forgotten about the wolf's blood all over me. No wonder he was aghast at my appearance! I took a deep breath and told him what had happened again, but adding the part about the wolf. I couldn't help myself, I was grinning like an idiot, and finished up saying, "Isn't that neat? I killed a wolf! Me, a city girl! I can't believe it!"
He was silent a moment and then he took a deep breath. "I think I will save my praise for later, Marie. When I get back from the sheep station. In the meantime, go wash up. I will find you after I return."
Slightly deflated because I thought I would get to go right back up to the sheep ranch, I nodded, suddenly feeling tired. I guess the old adrenaline rush was wearing off. I followed behind him as he hurried away because I actually wasn't sure where my room was from this hall. As we went down a flight of stairs, I stumbled a bit, but grabbed the wall before I fell. He stopped at the bottom, looking up at me with a frown.
"I am not following you my lord!" I said defensively. "I-I am just not sure where I am in relation to my room."
He reached out an impatient hand and I came and slowly took it, knowing he was in a rush. And off we went. Before I could think, we were standing by the arches to my room. Embarrassed, I scratched my head. "Okay, well thanks! I'll just go clean up now." With a slight smile, he turned and left. Whoosh. I was definitely exhausted and had a headache. Life here in Rivendell has certainly been interesting! I dragged myself into the bathroom, flung off my smelly clothes and sank gratefully into the warm water. I practically drowned myself, as I nodded off like twice. I washed my hair carefully, the bump a dull ache. Yawning, I crawled into bed and fell immediately asleep.
I wrenched my hand out of the ravening wolf and yelled in triumph as he dropped to my feet, ugly fanged mouth gaping, blood everywhere! A crowd of elves stood around me, mouths open in amazement. I am Human! I am Woman! Hear me roar! I flung away, and I found myself wrapped in a cape suddenly and I struggled to get it off...
I opened my eyes, finding myself all tangled in my quilt, just as Elrond lit my bedside candle and threw some light on the subject. He silently sorted me and the covers out and then stood there a moment looking down at me. He bent forward, bringing the candle close to my face. I reared back at that, but he took my jaw in his other hand, looking at me searchingly. Dazed and not completely awake, I couldn't blink. All I could think about was the wolf's jaws, and I shivered suddenly.
He put the candle aside, and lifted my head, feeling gently for the bump. Once again, I felt that deep warmth and the pain and its attendant fuzziness went away. I yawned and said, "Oh, okay. Thanks." I rubbed my face slowly and then sat up with a rush as I remembered. "Wait, wait a minute! What happened with Fingalan and Garnellin? Who attacked them? Are they all right?"
He smiled at that and went and got the chair from the table where I ate my meals. Pulling up to my right side, where the candle was, he sat, crossed his legs and folded his arms across his chest.
"Well, you have had a busy day. Tracking down lost sheep, killing wolves, riding bareback in the dark, finding injured elves..."
I grinned back at him and clasped my hands together. "I can't believe I killed that wolf! He ran right at me and I just stabbed him with that great elvish knife I found in the rucksack! Thanks for putting that in there too! Boy, who would have thought..."
"Neither I nor Master Cerwal put that knife in there, Marie. It is just another part of the puzzle of this afternoon's events. I was hoping you could tell me in more detail what transpired today as I am uneasy about the injuries to Fingalan and Garnellin. This is, for elves, a highly unusual state of affairs. It has been a long time since I have been involved in intrigue, and I find it curious that some of it revolves around you."
"Are Fingalan and Garnellin all right?"
"Yes, yes, they are fine. Both have had hard knocks to their heads, and minor cuts, otherwise they're fine. But neither can remember exactly what happened, which is also unusual. It is hard for an elf to be surprised like that."
"Well, we need a detective to---"
"'Detective'? I do not know that word..."
"It means, let's see: Someone skilled in tracking and assembling facts to reach a clearer picture of events, usually a crime."
"Ah, a Ranger."
"Yes! Exactly! Aragorn or Malwen or both could probably help you discover what's going on." I sat back at that staring out into the room. "What a great idea: Aragorn and Malwen as detectives! This could be fun! Malwen is okay now isn't he?"
"Yes, he did some walking today to test the strength of his leg. But fun? I think not Marie. "Fun" makes me uneasy. It seems to encourage your propensity to injury."
"Ah, yes, there is that. Honest, like I said earlier, I think it's just all the new things I am doing. I'm not like this at home at all. I never have to go to the doctor or anything. I'll get better, I swear." I leaned forward anxiously, afraid he was going to give me embroidery or something frustratingly delicate to do. "But, but, I have more experience with this kind of thing. It happens a lot in my world. I mean, I know I can't go hunting up the actual person doing all this, but I can at least give my input."
Elrond looked unconvinced. Sighing, I returned to his original question and told him the sequence of events, again.
"As for what happened today, it is as I said earlier. Fingalan and I went sheep hunting while Garnellin stayed back at the ranch to help. We found three sheep, one of them dead already. We rescued one from a crevasse late in the day and Fingalan took the animal back. I waited for him. When he didn't show up, I walked back the way we'd come and found the other ravine with the dead sheep, the wolf and Garnellin. Fingalan I didn't find until the rescuers showed up and I returned to the ranch. He was under a big oak near the edge of the sheep meadow with the broken fence."
I bit my lip as Elrond remained wrapped in thoughtful silence. What else could I say to convince him? I did have a bad track record here already. Idly, I rubbed the back of my head with that, and then snatched my hand away quickly. Didn't want to remind him.
"Well, look, if Malwen is still recuperating," I added, " I can help him with what ever Aragorn can discover...Or at least, I can keep Malwen company..." I slumped against the pillows. "That's right, he doesn't speak old Dwarvish." I looked at the still implacable face. Leaning forward again, I clasped my hands with a sudden thought, "I don't suppose there is ah, well, a really quick way for me to learn Elvish? Like mind to mind or something..." I automatically winced. What in God's name was I thinking, letting my mouth run off like that? That elves were like Vulcans?
"Never mind my lord. I have a way too vivid an imagination. It's what got me here in the first place!" I sighed deeply. "Anyway, if there is anything I can do to help...I can still work on smoothing Fingalan's rough edges, can't I?"
Elrond, lost in thought, took a moment to answer. "Yes, yes of course. That is all arranged. There's gardening to do tomorrow. Fingalan can get some dirt under his nails and mud on his knees." He stood with that and looked at me for a minute (That's fine: I like looking at him as much as possible!) and then with a swirl of his robes, he bid me good night and left quickly.
I yawned again and blew out the candle.
"We have a minor problem on one of the higher farms, Marie. There has been a wolf sighted and the sheep have stampeded. We are gathering those who can be spared to go help round up the ewes. Do you feel well enough to work this morning?" His smile broadened a fraction. Fingalan was watching me, his hands behind his back. Garnellin, like the last time I saw him, was frowning. Catching his glance, he dropped his eyes to the floor. Well. Needless to say, I felt fine. "Yes, yes of course. If you'll give me a few minutes to wash up, I shall be ready to go."
Elrond waved the two away. "Fingalan and Garnellin will wait for you out by the stables and breakfast is on its way."
Fingalan and Garnellin bowed sharply, turned and left.
"Rounding up lost sheep, eh? I am not sure if I shall be more hindrance than help. I'm afraid I am a city girl."
"Sheep are not one of the most intelligent of creatures. They will not have gone far. I have sent those on the farm who can be spared to search for the wolf. You, Fingalan and Garnellin will remain at the farm and help there as the animals come in. A little farm work will be good for Fingalan. And you."
I nodded "Garnellin is not well, the friendliest of elves. I don't think he has spoken once in my presence."
"He says he does not speak old Dwarvish, Marie. And he is not happy with Fingalan's behavior. We had a talk last night." Elrond turned to leave. As he reached the corridor, he cocked his head at me around one of the pillars supporting an arch and said dryly, "And I shall not expect you to come back with injuries."
I laughed and said. "I'll be careful!"
I got up and grabbed the clean clothes at the end of the bed, this time it was pair of pants and a long tunic. At last, something practical to wear.
By the time I was cleaned up, breakfast was waiting. And dare I say, I wolfed it down I was so anxious to be out and about to show how useful I could be.
As I hurried to the stables, I figured it was just going to be Fingalan and I, which slowed me down. How should I act around him? Actually I was mostly curious to see how HE was going to react to me. There was a part of me that felt maybe he really hadn't set me up. But I would swear I heard laughing before I passed out. And he hadn't seemed much concerned when I came to. I don't know.
As I entered the stables, I found that Master Cerwal had already saddled Belingala for me. "Good morning mistress!"
"Good morning Master Cerwal, I am looking forward to a ride!"
He bent and gave me a leg up. Finally, I turned to the slightly sullen elf waiting quietly on his stallion. "Well, good morning Fingalan and Garnellin! You both are mighty quiet today!"
Glowering a bit at that, Fingalan said, "How are you...Marie." Garnellin merely nodded.
"Quite well, thank you." I clucked to Belingala and headed out. "And thanks for your help last night."
He said nothing further, but spurred Thalgarn past me, Garnellin following. I smiled at his stiff back and trotted behind as they went down the path and then turned towards the head of the gorge. Pleased we were going to see something new, I hummed to myself. Today, I was going to be so darn helpful I would surprise even Fingalan.
It took an hour for us to reach the high pastures where the sheep were kept. And the views from up there were spectacular. Towards the Misty Mountains and down where I could see how Rivendell nestled amongst the nooks and crannies of the gorge. It was a much larger place than I had imagined.
Since the elves managing the sheep station, as it were, did not speak old Dwarvish, I let Fingalan and Garnellin do all the talking.
We were led around to the sheep meadows and shown where the fence had broken, to give us an idea in which direction the sheep may have gone. The elf told Fingalan that we didn't need to stay here. He needed us to search for strays. So, we were going to search on foot the many ravines and small copses of scrub pine for any wayward sheep. The rancher then handed Fingalan a length of rope, which he threw over his shoulder. Garnellin, I noticed, stayed put.
"Do we stay together or go our own way?"
Fingalan shook his head emphatically, as the other two strode off. "Lord Elrond told me we must work together. Garnellin will help out here."
"All right." I got the rucksack Master Cerwal had tied to my pommel. Inspecting it briefly I found a leather-wrapped bottle of water, or perhaps wine. Something icy and cold. And several leaf-wrapped packages, which I was hoping held lembas since I had not had any of that fine elvish waybread yet.
Fingalan had already gone ahead, so I didn't explore the rest of the sack, but slung it over my shoulder and followed Fingalan's lead. I smiled as I tramped through the spring grass and flowers. This was like being in the Fellowship! Well, sort of, well the hiking part anyway!! All we needed were a couple of hobbits, and Aragorn and Boromir, of course and...
Just under the leaves of a stand of oak, Fingalan stopped and I ran into his outstretched arm. Immediately going silent, I heard the plaintive bleating of a sheep. We both approached a stand of bushes growing through a jumble of boulders, and found a ewe stuck by her horns in the brush. It took us a good 20 minutes to untangle the wiggling, frightened animal. And sheep are smelly and kind of greasy and it cracked me up that when she finally got loose, she ran between Fingalan's legs and straight back to the farm.
"Well," I said grinning and wiping dirt off my face. "That wasn't so bad!"
Fingalan rolled his eyes as we set off again, but I could swear he was trying to hide a smile.
After we found two more sheep, one of them dead from a fall, I asked Fingalan if we could stop for lunch. Nodding, he sat on a boulder and I opened the rucksack in front of him and pulled out the leaf-wrapped packages and the bottle, which I handed to him. I was thrilled to find lembas in one leaf-wrapped package and slices of cheese and some dried fruit in another. Not fond of cheese, I handed that to Fingalan and eagerly tried the lembas. Cool! Flaky and slightly sweet, but substantial. I only ate three and I was full. Fingalan only ate one, but of course he'd eaten them a hundred times. Rummaging in the bottom of the rucksack, I sucked in my breath in amazement as I pulled out a sheathed elvish knife!! Wow!!! I slid it out carefully and looked at the inlaid handle and the slightly curved blade, laid over with runes. It sparkled in the sunlight. I just sat in awe. It was gorgeous, and darn it, it was mine! (All right, Fingalan had one on his belt anyway!). I put it slo! wly back in the rucksack disappointed I didn't have a belt I could put it on.
After lunch, we set off hiking again. We were getting higher up into the gorge and it had been a couple of hours with no more sightings and I was wondering if we were really going to find any more sheep in this direction. As Fingalan climbed a high pile of boulders, I asked, "Enough looking in this area? Maybe we should try more to the south."
"All right---wait, I see something over to your right, there's a narrow ravine..."
"Great!" I scampered off in the direction he indicated and sure enough, there was a sheep, down at the bottom of this small crevasse,bleating piteously.
Scrambling over the cracked granite and shrubs, I got down to the animal. Other than a couple of scrapes on its legs, it was fine. I braced myself against one wall of the crevasse and sort of shoved the sheep up the other wall. Fingalan showed up then and seeing what I was about, tied the rope to a stout tree at the top and rappelled down to me. He wrapped an arm around the sheep and dragged it up after him. Once they were at the top, he called down "I will send this sheep on its way! I will only be a few minutes!"
"Right! No problem!"
I knew it would take him a little while to get out of the rocks and out to the level pasture where the sheep could be set loose. I leaned against the warm rock wall and watched the clouds sailing by. Once again, I was delighted by my circumstances. I had gotten over my 'ugly human' feelings and worries about what I was doing here. What will be; will be. I was going to work hard not to do anything precipitous, but I was going to enjoy myself. I smiled at my elvish boots (wow! Honest-to-goodness elvish boots, not cheap imitations!). Thank goodness, Elrond had come up with this project with Fingalan though. It certainly helped my outlook to be doing something productive. And actually Fingalan had been more pleasant today. I had only seen one smirk this afternoon! And for some reason, I was glad Garnellin was not around. His sulleness got on my nerves.
I pulled the rucksack around and pulled out the leather-wrapped bottle, which was fruit wine, perhaps blackberry. I took a few big slugs of it and then corked it. I pushed myself off the rock face, deciding to get out of the crevasse and sit under the shade of the tree to wait for Fingalan. I pulled on the rope, ready to climb, and the darn thing slithered off the tree and pooled in a heap at my feet. Great knot, Fingalan! Obviously he was never a boy scout! But, he was from Mirkwood, which makes it kind of hard to believe he couldn't tie a good knot... Shaking my head, I coiled it up and leaned back against the near side of the crevasse to get out of the sun and scrunched down to wait. Grinning, I imagined needling Fingalan about his rope tying skills. I must have sat there for over an hour, when the thought struck me that perhaps Fingalan was not coming back, or had been delayed, or perhaps, God forbid, injured!
I tried to scramble out, it took me a few tries, but eventually I was able to find enough handholds to get me out.
Looking around, I could see no sign of Fingalan, but I did notice the sun was setting. Time to head back to the farm. Carefully going down among the tumbled boulders, I used handy bushes to guide me and keep me from slipping. Debating whether I should go back to the farm first, I decided I should make a thorough search before showing up without him.
Once I got to fairly level ground, I started calling out for Fingalan, in case he had been hurt. The twilight was deepening as I traversed another crevasse, one where we actually found the dead sheep. I gave it a cursory glance and then stopped, heart in my throat. Lord, it looked as if there was a body down there, and I didn't mean the ewe! Actually, there looked as if there were two!
"Fingalan! Fingalan! Is that you?" There was no reply, but I could swear one of the bodies moved and I thought I could hear moaning. Taking the elvish rope, I tied it around a stunted tree growing through a crack nearby and the let it play out to the bottom. Rappelling down, I had reached the halfway point, when I heard growling! The wolf!! I froze. What should I do! What if he was savaging Fingalan!!! Yuck! I slowly went back up to the tree and quickly rummaged in the rucksack and pulled out the elvish knife. All righty then! Showtime! I bit on the knife, pirate-fashion and went back down. I could easily hear the growling. Stopping again at the halfway point, I turned to look down and saw that it was indeed a large wolf.
And Fingalan lay nearby. The wolf thankfully was worrying the sheep carcass and had ignored the still form of the elf, so far. What was Fingalan doing lying here? Removing the knife from my mouth and taking a deep breath, I decided loud noise might work, so I started screaming and waving my arms around as I slipped down the rope. This had the desired effect and the animal leapt away from the sheep carcass and whined. I jumped the last few feet and waved the knife, which gleamed in the twilight. I tried to remember that elvish shout they always made in battle. Was it A Elbereth a Gilthoniel!?? (Have I mentioned my Elvish is not up to speed?) Anyway, I shouted that as loud as I could and brandished my knife. "Come on you mangy dog! Come at me and leave Fingalan alone!" Was I nuts? How many times had I attacked a wolf? I don't know why I was doing this except, well, I couldn't leave Fingalan laying there, defenseless!
And then I realized the wolf was trapped by its inability to get out of the crevasse. Oh good, a cornered wolf! Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. Stupidly, I approached the animal hoping it would lunge and then I could go for the throat. And it did.
I raised the knife and aimed for the fanged mouth and I shoved with all my might.
It worked!!! I can't believe it, but it did!! The animal came at me and practically impaled itself on my knife. It flung me back against the rocks, its blood spurting all over me. (Yuck again!!!) It flung me back so hard, I banged my head and saw stars and it took me a moment to get my bearings. Trembling with adrenaline rush, I shakily got out from the bleeding animal and pulled my knife out of its body. I could barely see by now, but I stared at the knife anyway. Wow, I had just killed a wolf!! A ferocious, hungry wolf!! No one I know would believe me!
It was a very primitive moment. And I shouted a wordless yell of triumph.
Looking up at the fading edge of the ravine, I saw somebody standing there. "Quick! Get help! Fingalan is injured!! The wolf's down here too!"
The person (I assume an elf) said nothing but disappeared. Oh good, at least we weren't going to left down here too much longer. I eased my way from the now smelly dead wolf, and tried to rouse Fingalan. From my tentative touches, as I could barely see now, he was lying face down. I tried to roll him over, but he was wedged between a rock and the crevasse wall. I brushed the hair off his face. At least his skin was not too cold. Because I couldn't see, I didn't know what else to do, except sit next to him. I wiped off the elvish knife as well as I could and then realized I had nowhere to put it, as I had dropped its sheath as I came down. Lord. Shivering, I hunched next to Fingalan. My head hurt, so I lay it on top of my knees. And put a hand on Fingalan's back. My hand touched his hair, which was soft and silky and I idly straightened it with my fingers. Poor guy! Then aware of what I was doing, I snatched my hand away and wrapped it around my calf. Hang on Fingalan! Aid will be coming soon!
Waiting in the mountain cold, shivering, with an unconscious elf and a dead wolf was not the most enjoyable event in my life, but it sure was, well, different! It felt like an hour went past before I heard voices.
"Here! Here we are! Help!!"
Oh-oh, I heard no answering old Dwarvish. Sighing, I stood up, my legs stiff with cold, my head aching. Torches and figures resolved themselves on the edge of the crevasse. Wait, what a dummy, my rope was still there. I felt around for a few minutes, and once I found it, I painfully climbed back up. I stood swaying on the opposite side of the crevasse from the rescuers, who, with their bobbling lights, could now see where Fingalan lay and the dead wolf too. The first of the elves got to Fingalan and after examining him, carefully rolled him over. The torch plainly showed me a big surprise! It wasn't Fingalan, it was Garnellin! And I was able to quickly discern that Fingalan was not among the rescuers! What was happening? Where was Fingalan and why was Garnellin laying there, blood trickling from a head wound behind his left ear?
I quickly went to where the other rescuers were, and with the help of the torchlights, looked for Fingalan. He wasn't there! I got an extra torch from a pile nearby and lit it off a burning one. Leaving them to rescue Garnellin, I went back carefully towards the sheep station, keeping my eyes out for the wayward elf. Which wasn't easy as it was almost full night. And lo and behold, I found him. Rather, I stumbled over him. He lay crumpled up under a large oak on the edge of big sheep meadow we had been shown earlier. Shaking him, I roused him enough so that he sat up. "Fingalan, what has happened to you? And to Garnellin!"
He sat there blinking at me, confused. He brought a hand up to his head and said uncertainly, "I-I do not know! I was going back to the ravine where we found the sheep, and then, then, someone hit me on the head!"
"Wow! Listen, I found Garnellin in the ravine with the dead sheep!! The wolf was there and I jumped down and killed the wolf! Can you believe it?"
I was going a little too fast for him and he frowned at me. "Wha-what? The wolf got Garnellin?"
"No, no, I got the wolf. Someone else got Garnellin!"
Shaking his head, he stood slowly, leaning on the tree. I realized he really needed some help, so I put my right shoulder under his left arm and helped him get back to the ranch house. When I got there I asked the head elf if anyone had alerted Elrond to what was going on. Damn, then I remembered he didn't speak old Dwarvish.
"Fingalan tell him I am going back down to the main House." Fingalan nodded and started speaking.
I ran out and found Belingala in a paddock near the barn, where thankfully, a few lanterns burned. Having no idea where her tack was, I whistled to her, after opening the gate and then climbed the fence deciding I'd ride elvish style, with no saddle. She waited patiently until I was ready to go and when I clapped my heels to her, she took off like the wind as if she knew something was wrong and speed was of the essence.
She's a great horse, and even in the dark, which was really scary for me because I couldn't see the trail that well, it only took about a half hour to get to the main courtyard before the House. And though not used to bareback riding, I was proud that I hadn't fallen off! I sprang off the horse, feeling very officious and important (my legs were only a little rubbery) and ran up the stairs. Stopping for a moment to remember which way to Elrond's study, I took off. I passed several surprised elves, calling out, "Elrond?" as I passed, hoping someone would know where he was. I followed their pointing fingers.
Taking a deep breath when I reached a large Hall I had not been in, I slowed down and tried to enter quietly. Elrond was standing with a group of elves in conversation. There was a fire burning at one end and the walls were hung with dark tapestries I could not make out clearly. Arches on the west wall looked out over the Bruinen, and I realized we were high up in the main House. There were some candles lit and a few chairs in groups, otherwise the room was bare. I brushed my hair back and biting my lip, I walked up quietly to Elrond's group. Hearing me, he turned with a look of horror on his face and I immediately whirled around thinking something bad was coming up behind me. But there was nothing there.
Turning confused, I found myself practically in Elrond's embrace. He grabbed me by the arms and searched my face. Slightly mesmerized, I stood looking at him (This is not a difficult job! He is an eyeful!)
"Marie! What has happened to you! Where are you hurt?" He led me over to a chair and sat me down before I could say anything. He shook his head as he examined my face. "I told you to be careful, and here---"
I started to laugh (and you should have seen his face when I did that!) "No, no! I am fine, except well for this bump on the head," I brought my hand up to the goose egg on the back of my skull. "No, I'm here because someone threw Garnellin down a ravine and hit Fingalan on the head as he was coming back from the ranch to get me, and-"
His hand had already gone to the bump on my head, but I ducked, saying "No, no really I'll survive! It's the other two you need to see to! Come on!" I jumped out of the chair and grabbed him by the hand and started to lead him out into the corridor.
Well, obviously, you don't just yank Elrond anywhere. He stopped, his eyes boring into mine. "All right Marie. Tell me again, from the beginning what has happened and why you are covered in blood." The other elves had come out into the corridor to hear my tale. Of course, I didn't imagine they all spoke old Dwarvish. But curiosity is curiosity. And I had forgotten about the wolf's blood all over me. No wonder he was aghast at my appearance! I took a deep breath and told him what had happened again, but adding the part about the wolf. I couldn't help myself, I was grinning like an idiot, and finished up saying, "Isn't that neat? I killed a wolf! Me, a city girl! I can't believe it!"
He was silent a moment and then he took a deep breath. "I think I will save my praise for later, Marie. When I get back from the sheep station. In the meantime, go wash up. I will find you after I return."
Slightly deflated because I thought I would get to go right back up to the sheep ranch, I nodded, suddenly feeling tired. I guess the old adrenaline rush was wearing off. I followed behind him as he hurried away because I actually wasn't sure where my room was from this hall. As we went down a flight of stairs, I stumbled a bit, but grabbed the wall before I fell. He stopped at the bottom, looking up at me with a frown.
"I am not following you my lord!" I said defensively. "I-I am just not sure where I am in relation to my room."
He reached out an impatient hand and I came and slowly took it, knowing he was in a rush. And off we went. Before I could think, we were standing by the arches to my room. Embarrassed, I scratched my head. "Okay, well thanks! I'll just go clean up now." With a slight smile, he turned and left. Whoosh. I was definitely exhausted and had a headache. Life here in Rivendell has certainly been interesting! I dragged myself into the bathroom, flung off my smelly clothes and sank gratefully into the warm water. I practically drowned myself, as I nodded off like twice. I washed my hair carefully, the bump a dull ache. Yawning, I crawled into bed and fell immediately asleep.
I wrenched my hand out of the ravening wolf and yelled in triumph as he dropped to my feet, ugly fanged mouth gaping, blood everywhere! A crowd of elves stood around me, mouths open in amazement. I am Human! I am Woman! Hear me roar! I flung away, and I found myself wrapped in a cape suddenly and I struggled to get it off...
I opened my eyes, finding myself all tangled in my quilt, just as Elrond lit my bedside candle and threw some light on the subject. He silently sorted me and the covers out and then stood there a moment looking down at me. He bent forward, bringing the candle close to my face. I reared back at that, but he took my jaw in his other hand, looking at me searchingly. Dazed and not completely awake, I couldn't blink. All I could think about was the wolf's jaws, and I shivered suddenly.
He put the candle aside, and lifted my head, feeling gently for the bump. Once again, I felt that deep warmth and the pain and its attendant fuzziness went away. I yawned and said, "Oh, okay. Thanks." I rubbed my face slowly and then sat up with a rush as I remembered. "Wait, wait a minute! What happened with Fingalan and Garnellin? Who attacked them? Are they all right?"
He smiled at that and went and got the chair from the table where I ate my meals. Pulling up to my right side, where the candle was, he sat, crossed his legs and folded his arms across his chest.
"Well, you have had a busy day. Tracking down lost sheep, killing wolves, riding bareback in the dark, finding injured elves..."
I grinned back at him and clasped my hands together. "I can't believe I killed that wolf! He ran right at me and I just stabbed him with that great elvish knife I found in the rucksack! Thanks for putting that in there too! Boy, who would have thought..."
"Neither I nor Master Cerwal put that knife in there, Marie. It is just another part of the puzzle of this afternoon's events. I was hoping you could tell me in more detail what transpired today as I am uneasy about the injuries to Fingalan and Garnellin. This is, for elves, a highly unusual state of affairs. It has been a long time since I have been involved in intrigue, and I find it curious that some of it revolves around you."
"Are Fingalan and Garnellin all right?"
"Yes, yes, they are fine. Both have had hard knocks to their heads, and minor cuts, otherwise they're fine. But neither can remember exactly what happened, which is also unusual. It is hard for an elf to be surprised like that."
"Well, we need a detective to---"
"'Detective'? I do not know that word..."
"It means, let's see: Someone skilled in tracking and assembling facts to reach a clearer picture of events, usually a crime."
"Ah, a Ranger."
"Yes! Exactly! Aragorn or Malwen or both could probably help you discover what's going on." I sat back at that staring out into the room. "What a great idea: Aragorn and Malwen as detectives! This could be fun! Malwen is okay now isn't he?"
"Yes, he did some walking today to test the strength of his leg. But fun? I think not Marie. "Fun" makes me uneasy. It seems to encourage your propensity to injury."
"Ah, yes, there is that. Honest, like I said earlier, I think it's just all the new things I am doing. I'm not like this at home at all. I never have to go to the doctor or anything. I'll get better, I swear." I leaned forward anxiously, afraid he was going to give me embroidery or something frustratingly delicate to do. "But, but, I have more experience with this kind of thing. It happens a lot in my world. I mean, I know I can't go hunting up the actual person doing all this, but I can at least give my input."
Elrond looked unconvinced. Sighing, I returned to his original question and told him the sequence of events, again.
"As for what happened today, it is as I said earlier. Fingalan and I went sheep hunting while Garnellin stayed back at the ranch to help. We found three sheep, one of them dead already. We rescued one from a crevasse late in the day and Fingalan took the animal back. I waited for him. When he didn't show up, I walked back the way we'd come and found the other ravine with the dead sheep, the wolf and Garnellin. Fingalan I didn't find until the rescuers showed up and I returned to the ranch. He was under a big oak near the edge of the sheep meadow with the broken fence."
I bit my lip as Elrond remained wrapped in thoughtful silence. What else could I say to convince him? I did have a bad track record here already. Idly, I rubbed the back of my head with that, and then snatched my hand away quickly. Didn't want to remind him.
"Well, look, if Malwen is still recuperating," I added, " I can help him with what ever Aragorn can discover...Or at least, I can keep Malwen company..." I slumped against the pillows. "That's right, he doesn't speak old Dwarvish." I looked at the still implacable face. Leaning forward again, I clasped my hands with a sudden thought, "I don't suppose there is ah, well, a really quick way for me to learn Elvish? Like mind to mind or something..." I automatically winced. What in God's name was I thinking, letting my mouth run off like that? That elves were like Vulcans?
"Never mind my lord. I have a way too vivid an imagination. It's what got me here in the first place!" I sighed deeply. "Anyway, if there is anything I can do to help...I can still work on smoothing Fingalan's rough edges, can't I?"
Elrond, lost in thought, took a moment to answer. "Yes, yes of course. That is all arranged. There's gardening to do tomorrow. Fingalan can get some dirt under his nails and mud on his knees." He stood with that and looked at me for a minute (That's fine: I like looking at him as much as possible!) and then with a swirl of his robes, he bid me good night and left quickly.
I yawned again and blew out the candle.