Chapter 3 (Modern day London)

It was three days after the murder of the former Bard and Elaina was absolutely miserable. Not only had a raid on an Orc's nest failed, causing a massive loss among the elves of Mirkwood and Rivendale, not only had the moving people broke her mother's piano and harp, and chipped her scrying bowl but the Orc attacks had increased, causing her to be very wary of her surroundings, both day and night. It was all very stressful, she very thankful for the distraction of a travelling wizard that came one morning.

The elven maid was on her way home from the store when she bumped in an elderly man, dropping her cans of soup and her vegetables on the ground. She quickly picked up the foods and hurriedly walked away, apologizing and bidding the man good morning. But she had taken only three steps when the man spoke up, causing her to stop.

"What do you mean 'good morning'?" he called. "Do you mean to wish me a good morning or do you mean that it is a good morning whether I want it or not? Or perhaps you mean to say that you feel good on this particular morning? Or are you simply stating that this is a morning to be good on?"

With a smile on her face, Elaina turned back to the man, only to see that the elderly man was an old friend.

"All of them at once I suppose." She exclaimed as she embraced the modern day Gandalf. The wizard chuckled heartedly as he embraced the elf back. Elaina, the first one to pull away, looked at the near senile wizard, seeing a lot of similarities between him when he lived in Middle Earth. His hair was as still wild as ever but it was shorter than usual, and his beard was a little bit more kept, but there wasn't anything other than his clothes that were different. His eyes were still warm brown eyes that sparkled with laughter, and he still carried a wooden staff, with intricate elvish designs.

"It is good to see you Mithrandir. I haven't seen you since after the Fellowship. Where have you been?"

"Oh I've been travelling the world, seeing new things," the wizard explained as they continued to walk. "It has been slightly difficult seeing how times have changed but I have been helping those in need and sharing adventures."

"You haven't been causing too much trouble I presume?" Elaina jokingly asked. They arrived back at Baker Street, and as Elaina attempted to balance the groceries in her hand, she opened the door and led the old wizard to her new flat. When she opened the door, she found all her stuff exactly where the movers left it: scattered in different places. Those guys weren't exactly happy when she refused to pay the full bill and even unhappier when she pulled a knife out when they tried to scare her. They probably wouldn't be taking any more requests from Elaina Peredhel anymore.

Gandalf sat down on a couch while Elaina put the groceries up and whipped something warm to drink up for her guest. 222B looked too much like her rooms in Rivendale, with a bookshelf that held many books that were written in Elven, portraits of long dead people sat on the wall, actual swords displayed, as well as armor that looked like it was polished yesterday (which it was), and many other things of sentimental value. The room was decorated with hand carved wooden furniture that had hand-sewn cushions. Everything from the furniture to the rugs to bedding to dishes and silverware, even the piano and harp, pointed to either hand made or ancient, which it just about was. In one room, there was a tapestry that covered the entire room, which depicted the Company of Thorin Oakenshield's journey, from the fall of the Lonely Mountain to the Battle of the Five Armies. There was a particular cabinet that was more precious than the hidden chest of gold and silver. The wooden was Quebracho, the strongest wood in the world, the handles pure gold that was shaped like vines traveling up the doors. Inside held the armor and weaponry that belonged to Elaina's mother, Diana, who was supposedly the daughter of the Moon and Sun.

The armor was silver and gold, with leaf and vine designs all over the breastplate, helmet and gauntlets. Her sword was leaf shaped, the sheath and handle also gold and silver. There were markings in the old elven, which said, Live by the sun, love by the moon. A saying her mother was most known for. Elaina never forgot to clean it, never forgot to oil and sharpen the sword and never forgot to remember the legacy her mother left behind. Protect the innocent, defend the weak and helpless and always be honorable in your intentions.

Elaina was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice that Gandalf was talking to her.

"…your father recently?" She caught the end of a question. Sheepishly she asked for him to repeat the question, which he just chuckled good-naturedly.

"Have you been in touch with your father recently?" He repeated.

"I only just saw him a few days ago," she explained as she poured the tea. "I have been busy the past few centuries to even bother with a reunion."

Gandalf sucked on his pipe in thought. "Mm and what, if I may ask, had your attention to the point where you couldn't contact your father? You are everything to him."

Elaina sighed, as she knew this was coming. Gandalf could be such a mother hen at times. "I realize that Mithrandir. But with Orcs attacking me every waking moment for the last three centuries as left me little time to worry about Father." She placed the tray with the tea, sugar, cream, and anything else they might need on the coffee table gently. All of the china was of course her mother's so it was pretty ancient but it was lovely.

"Are you sure that is what distracted you? Or was it…. something else?" Gandalf probed. The elven maid silently cursed. She knew Gandalf would find out eventually; he was too smart for his own good.

"I thought I could find him," Elaina muttered as tears started to form in her eyes. "They all have at one point or another. And I just thought, well if I tried hard enough I could find him. But he's never coming back. Ever." She blinked the tears away quickly before Gandalf placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. Elaina smiled up at the kindly old wizard.

"So why are you in London Gandalf? Last time anyone heard of you, you were in the States."

"I am here because your father invited me for the meeting of the Elven Council. He said something about murders of some Mirkwood and Rivendale elves that had gone missing since the last Festival of Stars."

"Yes, that's why I came to London as well. Every piece of evidence points to Orcs. Many of the elves found all have their ears cut off and their bodies burned beyond recognition. The ones that had families…. they never received closure. But lately they have gotten bolder." Elaina's explanation was cut off as her cell rang, with an unknown number as the caller. The elf warrior hesitantly answered the phone, relaxing when she realized that Detective Inspector Lestrade was the one calling.

"Yes Inspector?"

"…"

"Has there been a problem?"

"…"

Elaina sighed. "No, no it's fine. I'll be there shortly.

"…"

"And you as well." Elaina hung the phone up and let stress of the pass few days come to her. She threw the tiny cell phone across the room, where it shattered into pieces against the wall. Normally, the heir to Rivendale had complete control over her temper, but these past few days were extremely hard on her. Not since she found out that her mother had died in battle and her father withdrew into himself for a while did she ever have this problem of her temper. Sighing, Elaina went to her bathroom, brushing her elongated canines, walking over to the closet and pulled out her trench coat.

"Gandalf, you are welcome to come with me, or you can stay here for as long as you like. I have to head to the laboratory to help with the examinations."

"I think I'll join you," The wizard stated. He stood stiffly, grabbing his walking stick that doubled as his magical staff. "I want to see if I can assist you. If you can fill me on the previous murders that'd be fantastic."

"Very well." Elaina relented. They walked out of the flat together, with Elaina explaining the murders.

-Line break-

The two arrived at the morgue, thankful for the warm air that blasted them as they walked in. Elaina walked down to the freezer, where the bodies were being held, so that she could view the new body and the body of the Bard. The elf and wizard walked into the lab, where a woman with brown straight hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. She smiled at the two as they walked in.

"May I help you?" the woman asked as Elaina took her coat off and pulled gloves on.

"Oh my name is Elaina Peredhel," the elven lady introduced herself, reaching out to shake hands. Elaina glanced down at her gloved hands, a blush forming on her cheeks in embarrassment.

"Molly Hooper," she introduced herself. "And you are?"

"I am Ian Mckellen," Gandalf answered. Elaina breathed a sigh in relief, as she was thankful for his quick thinking. She never thought about introducing Gandalf to anyone but thank goodness for eons for quick thinking and advanced planning. "I am Elaina's uncle three times removed, in town for a family visit."

"What are you doing here? This lab is off limits to anyone without a pass."

"Don't worry Ms. Hooper, we won't be here too long," Elaina explained as she looked over the body. Her assumption was correct in her theory on how the guy died. His neck was nearly severed, the neck artery nicked, causing the guy to bleed out quicker. The man's wrist was also red and raw, possibly from being in held in chains for an extended period of time. The strong scent of peppermint was gone replaced by the antiseptic smell of chloroform.

"Did you find any chemicals in his system?" Elaina asked. Ms. Hooper glanced down at her clipboard.

"Uh it doesn't seem so," she answered. Elaina hummed thoughtfully as she finished her examination. Orcs weren't known for poisoning their prey and if they did than it would be to kill not to capture. So if he wasn't poisoned he must've been blitz attacked. If he didn't have his memories then he wouldn't be able to use the skills he picked up from his life in Middle Earth. That was the most logical theory Elaina could come up with at the moment, but she wouldn't know for sure until she looked at the arrowhead. Speaking of which….

"Do you know where they placed the arrowhead that was retrieved from the crime scene?" Elaina asked as she removed her gloves and dumped them into the trash. Molly nodded and informed her that it was in the cooler. The elf thanked the human female before walking off towards the back of the morgue. Gandalf followed her silently as Elaina pulled out the arrowhead of the cooler. They bid the woman goodbye and walked off to the lab.

"This doesn't make any sense!" Elaina shouted as she refrained from throwing the arrowhead. The arrowhead had properties similar to Orc arrows, but the markings were not consistent with Orcs. They actually predate the Orcs as the markings looked so old it might've predated Middle Earth.

"Let me see," Gandalf said. After about thirty minutes of teaching him how to use the microscope (eons of living and he still didn't know how to use a microscope) Gandalf examined the arrowhead markings. He hummed in thought, and when he pulled back, the wizard looked very disturbed and agitated.

"Well? What do they mean?"

"Those are the markings that predate Middle Earth," He said stroking his beard, agitated. "Right before the reign of Sauron, the arrows were dipped in a poison so painful that it felt like the body was being dipped in fire."

"Is there any way to detect this poison? Surely it has some sort of scent or something."

"It is undetectable except for a small hint of peppermint." Elaina stopped, just about dropping the glass beaker she held in her hand. She remembered being overcome by the strong scent of peppermint, as if the body was bathed in scented perfume. The scent that attacked her overly sensitive sense of smell still lingered slightly as if it clung to her body like a cloud.

In a daze Elaina asked Gandalf another question. "How much of this stuff does it take to kill a grown man?"

"Less than three hours. An advanced breed of Orcs that is no longer in existence created it, and used in the War of the Ring. All of those wounded with this arrow all died, even though they never died from the wounds themselves."

"What about the side effects?" Elaina asked as she carefully picked the arrowhead up in preparation to scrap the remains of the poison off.

"Uh let's see," Gandalf started to list off a bunch of side effects. "Sweating, fever, vomiting, hallucinations, trouble breathing, pain, confusion, disorientation and finally death." Okay so now she would need to be extra careful when she handled the arrowhead. She placed the arrow back in the bag and placed it back in the cooler in the lab, before shaking her head.

"I don't know about you, Mithrandir but I could do with some lunch," Elaina said stretching. The elderly wizard heartedly agreed before the two walked out of the morgue only to bump into Sherlock Holmes and John Watson. The four of them stood there, each blocking each other's way.

"Oh excuse us gentlemen," Elaina apologized, trying to maneuver past them, only the two to do the same thing, except Sherlock had an annoyed expression. John chuckled as he bid Gandalf and me (rather Mr. Mckellen) good morning before they walked off but Elaina's eyes followed him even when they turned into the laboratory. Gandalf noticed this and nudged the elven lady's shoulder, jolting her out of her thoughts.

With a raised eyebrow, Gandalf remarked, "He looks like Bilbo."

"So?" Was all Elaina asked, continuing to walk on. The elf forced her to look straight ahead of her and let her feet carry her away from the Bilbo look alike. When they walked outside, thunder rolled across the sky as a winter storm hurled itself upon the unsuspecting city of London. The two shadows of time walked back to Elaina's flat, arriving right as the pouring cold rain started to fall in big fat droplets. They sat there, listening to the pounding of the rain, as the elf hadn't bought a television yet, chatting softly about multiple things. But Elaina couldn't get the thought of the poisoned arrowhead out of her head. There would be death and destruction in this modern world if she didn't act fast.

Once the rain had slowed, Elaina ventured out to get the two some lunch, with a quick stop at the cemetery on the way. There was very little activity at the cemetery but that was to be expected on a rainy, cold, dreary day like this. Wrapped in a midnight black overcoat, Elaina made her way to very back of the graveyard where a hand made stone carved with Elven markings. This, like many other tombs across the world where she had been, was a ceremonial gravestone raised in memory of Elaina's love, Bilbo. Since he was buried at sea, the graves were basically memorials but the elven warrior maid always came to the stones when she was distressed.

"Hello love," Elaina greeted smiling slightly. A tear slipped as she continued, her voice wobbly. "I am sorry Bilbo but I can't do this anymore. Gandalf is right; I cannot keep going like this. But don't worry. I will find you, in this life or the next." Elaina placed the sunflowers on the grave, before leaving, feeling much better that she could move on with her life. Next thing she would have to do is consult her scrying bowl and see if she can find where the Dwarves of Erebor were. This was going to be a long week.