The forest had always been a lively place. Flowers of all different colors were always in bloom and sunrays filtered through the treetops, making patterns on the ground foliage.

Here and there small animals had darted in and out of cozy hiding places, but recently a shadow had been cast over the forest. Nathrindal noticed it as she trudged through the

forest. She had been looking for Radagast the Brown for hours, his mossy and rotting tree house had been left deserted. The critters such as Sebastian the hedgehog, a close

friend of Radagast, hadn't been able to point her in the right direction either but he did tell her that the forest was changing, it was turning poisonous and evil was rising from

the depths. Nathrindal hadn't been in Fangorn since she was a child, but her intelligent and observant elf eyes had remembered everything, and now she could see the

difference: plant's were dying, there were unusual tracks of abnormally large animals, the forest seemed to be darkening and the trees were swaying in anguish as their rustling

leaves whispered concerns. Suddenly, Nathrindal's perfectly pointed ears heard a rustling in the undergrowth. She spun around to see a small figure, with pointy ears and large

feet jumping out from a small shrub. Aznor, Nathrindal's hobbit friend, was panting and doubling over to catch her breath. She was a cute little hobbit. Quite slim for a hobbit;

she had long, wavy, hazel, hair that shone when the sun hit it, she had fair skin and light green eyes. Aznor was said to be the cutest hobbit in the entire city she had come

from. She looked quite different in contrast to Nathrindal. Nathrindal may be an elf but she had long, black, sleek, hair that went to the center of her back, her grey-green eyes

looked like they went on forever and her fair skin was lighter than most elves, but most had admitted she was very a rare beauty.

Finally Aznor spoke, "I found his tracks, Radagast I mean, he was heading south towards Rivendell."

"Good job my dear friend, let's catch up with him."

Hoisting the bow she was carrying on to her shoulder, Nathrindal and Aznor headed into a southerly direction following Radagast's trail. They ran for a couple of minutes,

branches scratching their faces and bramble bushes snagging at their delicately made elven robes, till they stopped in their tracks. They heard voices. They heard the high,

panicky, stuttering, voice of Radagast but also other deep male voices, coming from behind some thick brambles. Grabbing her smooth elven bow, Nathrindal nocked an arrow

into place and aimed it at the direction of the voices. Taking a deep breath, she and Aznor stepped out of the forest and into a clearing where they found a strange sight indeed.

Thirteen dwarves, a tall grey wizard, and Radagast the Brown had all turned to face them. In an instance the dwarves drew sharp swords from their sheaths and pointed it at

the two newcomers. But the grey wizard dismissed the dwarves with a wave of his large hand, signaling that the elf and hobbit were no threat. Aznor was the first to speak.

"You…you're Gandalf the Grey," she said, recognizing him immediately by the large grey hat the shielded his bushy eyebrows. "You're said to have the most amazing fireworks

around." The wizard laughed a rough but cheerful laugh.

"It seems my fireworks are better known than I am, but may I ask what Aznor the Hobbit from Lothlorien and Nathrindal the Dark Lady from Lothlorien are doing all the way in

Fangorn? Visiting relatives in Rivendell, perhaps?" Gandalf asked politely, a glint of suspicion in his eyes.

Putting her bow and arrow back on her back and standing up straight, Nathrindal answered.

"We could ask you the same question. But if you must know we are here, sent by the Lady of Light, to assist Radagast with the strange happenings in Fangorn," she snapped.

Radagast nodded quickly. Nathrindal scanned the sea of dirty and tired dwarf faces that were staring at them, but she noticed one face in particular that stood out. Unlike the

others, this dwarf had a thin, perfectly angular, nose, he had long, dark, hair and only a little bit of stubble surrounding his pink lips and he seemed to be quite young too.

Another dark-grey haired dwarf stepped out from the crowd.

"You have no business here with us, elf," he sneered.

"Indeed we don't," Nathrindal, retorted, "we are merely looking for Radagast and not a smelly company of dwarves." That last comment caused an outburst. A lot of protests

and insults were flung around and one peculiar dwarf, with an axe embedded in his forehead, shouted at the two girls in Khuzdul. Aznor cautioned her friend and broke the

silence with a tremendous, deafening whistle.

"This is silly," she snapped, an air of irritation in her voice, "we are not here to fight with you."

"She's absolutely right…allow me to introduce myself: I'm Bilbo Baggins," chimed in another voice and out from the crowd stepped another, middle-aged I might mention,

hobbit. Aznor seemed quite star struck at seeing another hobbit. The hobbit was slightly taller than Aznor, he was wearing a dirty pair of pants that went just beyond his

kneecaps, a green vest that was topped off with a dark, red, velvet, jacket. His light, bronze hair was wavy and went to his pointy hobbit ears. He smiled pleasantly at Aznor

who had shaken herself out of her daze. Suddenly a howl pierced the air.

"A wolf?" one dwarf inquired, his voice trembling.

"That's no wolf, it's a Warg," Nathrindal whispered and took hold of her bow.

"And that means an Orc pack is not far behind," Gandalf replied. With a loud crash an ugly, mass of coarse brown fur and vicious snapping teeth, resembling a large wolf,

bounded into the clearing. Nathrindal prepared to let the arrow fly but in an instance the wolf collapsed on the ground, an oak arrow already stuck in the center of its head.

Nathrindal followed the direction of which the arrow had come and found its shooter. It was the handsome, young, dwarf. He glanced at her and smiled.

"The name's Kili," he mumbled. Nathrindal smiled and was about to reply when Gandalf interrupted. He addressed the girls,

"It seems you were sent to us! I think the mysterious happenings in Fangorn are linked to our quest," he spoke quickly, "We are in danger here, I fear we are being tracked. If

you will follow us I will explain everything

later when we find safety." The girls looked at each other and nodded in approval and they raced after the rest of the company, out into the vulnerable Lone Lands.