The next morning, Gimli and Legolas woke up early, and ate some lembas bread while waiting for the drunk man to return to the inn.
He never did.
After having waited for hours, they got bored with waiting, and decided to look for their son by themselves. They quickly found the forest, and there they started looking for clues.
Meanwhile, little Gimli Talos Junior seemed to have reached his destination with his alpaca-napper. His captor flung the bag on the floor. Slowly, the little alpaca baby crawled out from the bag, resuming his chant.
"WE ARE BUT MAGGOTS, WRITHING IN THE FILTH OF OUR OWN CORRUPTION! WHILE YOU HAVE ASCENDED FROM THE DUNG OF MORTALITY, AND NOW WALK AMONG THE STARS!" Gimli Talos Junior said enthusiastically.
The alpaca-napper mumbled a "Not again…" and grabbed the alpaca by its leg. He then swiftly threw the little alpaca baby into a cage, which he locked with approximately thirty-six different locks.
Then the alpaca-napper removed the hood from his head, revealing his face. Gimli Talos Junior gasped in shock. It was his grandpa, Thranduil!
Back in the forest, Gimli and Legolas were searching the forest closely. They looked under every leaf and branch, hoping to find a trace of their son. They had almost lost all hope, when Legolas saw something shiny and colourful in the corner of his eye. It was a magical jelly bean! And behind it was another, and another, and yet another, and even more, leading in a trail.
"Look," Legolas said, "A trail!"
"That's my wee little lad's favourite food!" Gimli said, "We should follow it, and quick!"
The duo started to follow the trail. They walked and walked and walked, until their feet were soar and stars lined the night sky.
"Ugh, is that the same tree AGAIN?" Gimli said grumpily.
"I feel like we're walking in circles…" Legolas sighed, "I wonder if we'll ever find anything…"
"Maybe we should set up camp," Gimli said, "Try again tomorrow."
Legolas nodded, and the two of them put up their tent. Afterwards, Gimli gathered some firewood, and they made a small campfire. Sitting in the warmth of the fire, Gimli and Legolas roasted potatoes on sticks.
"It's so lonely without our wee little alpaca," Gimli said, his voice sounding quite emotional.
Legolas carefully wrapped one arm around Gimli and held him close. With his free hand, the elf patted the dwarf's head.
"There, there, it will be all right," Legolas said soothingly.
Gimli tried to smile, but failed, and then decided to start eating his potato. Legolas soon followed, and they were silent for a while, quietly eating, until they felt it was time for bed. The dwarf and elf curled up in their bedrolls, wished each other good night, and tried to catch some sleep.
When they woke up, it had already been late in the morning. Birds were fluttering around and singing. Gimli and Legolas quickly cleared their camp, and soon, they were ready to travel further.
Only, there was one small problem…
The jelly bean trail was gone.
"Oh no!" Gimli said fearfully, "The trail… It's gone! What are we going to now? What if we never find Gimli Talos Junior again?"
"Don't worry," Legolas said, "We're going to find him, Gimli, I promise."
While Thranduil had been very careful in making sure the little alpaca couldn't escape, he had overlooked one small issue: making sure that Gimli Talos Junior would stay quiet. The elven king was lying in his bed, as the little alpaca kept on screaming his chant.
"BUT YOU WERE ONCE MAN! AYE! AND AS MAN, YOU SAID, 'LET ME SHOW YOU THE POWER OF TALOS STORMCROWN, BORN OF THE NORTH, WHERE MY BREATH IS LONG WINTER. I BREATHE NOW, IN ROYALTY, AND RESHAPE THIS LAND WHICH IS MINE. I DO THIS FOR YOU, RED LEGIONS, FOR I LOVE YOU.'" Gimli Talos Junior continued.
"Oh, won't you shut up!" Thranduil said agitatedly, but to no avail.
Gimli Talos Junior just kept on shouting, and Thranduil turned around again, and put his hands to his ears, desperately wanting the noise to stop.
After some time, Thranduil got fed up with the alpaca baby's yelling, so he stood up and got a little piece of cloth from his satchel. Then he walked over to the cage, opened the thirty-six locks. Grabbing the alpaca under one arm, he bound Gimli Talos Junior's mouth shut, and then shoved him back into the cage. Again, he locked the many, many locks, and then he went back to bed.
"Finally… Peace and quiet," Thranduil sighed, before going to sleep again.