PELAGIR; QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

As Arvellas led them along the east bank of the Bruinen River, Eruraviel watched the river churning down below. If they were lucky and the weather held, it was after all the beginning of winter, they should make it about 30 miles today as they had left just after dawn. Their progress would slow once they passed the Imladris Borders and would need to watch more carefully for threats. She kept an eye on Arvellas as she swerved to the left to avoid a fallen tree, the ground was cold and hard and the last thing she wanted was for Arvellas to lose her footing and injure herself, as such, they would stick to a fast walk. Once they got further south where it was warmer she would consider speeding up a bit. They would stop for an hour around midday to allow them to rest and drink before continuing.

As the scenery passed by Eruraviel couldn't help but miss the presence of Glorfindel. While she could still slightly feel him within her faer, it seemed naught but a pale shadow compared to being in his arms. Shaking her head, she was surprised to see the sun high in the sky. She had been absorbed in her thoughts longer than she thought.

"Sorry Mellon-nin I didn't intend to drift within my mind. We should stop here so you can rest and drink." She told Arvellas patting her withers gently as she lead her faithful companion down a slightly clear path down the bank and dismounted at the edge of the river. As Arvellas dropped her head to drink Eruraviel stretched and twisted loosening the muscles that had tightened during the ride. She approached Arvellas and reaching into one of the saddle's side pocket pulled out two apples. She had taken them from the main kitchen this morning. She fed one to Arvellas who had finished drinking and kept the other for herself. She led Arvellas back up the bank and into a slightly open clearing that had plenty of wild grass for Arvellas to feast on. She climbed a tree and laying on the limb listened for any sound that didn't belong within the forest around her. They remained in the clearing for a little under an hour before they headed out once more. They would hopefully reach the North-South road in a week, which is where they would part from the Bruinen River.

As the week passed and the distance between her and Imladris grew larger, she found herself more discontent with the road than she had thought she would be. There had been only one incident during the week on the fourth day of her journey when she came across a pack of orcs just inside the Imladris border. She had come across them while hunting for dinner and seeing as there was only five of them decided it wouldn't be an issue to dispose of the foul things before they could harm anyone. It had taken only a short time to dispatch the small group and knowing that one of the Imladris patrols would doubtless come across them in a few days she left and small piece of paper with a note explaining what had happened tied to a nearby tree. She had no doubt that the note would make its way to Elrond and eventually Glorfindel so she made sure to reiterate that she was fine and unharmed.

For now she was letting Arvellas have one last drink from the river as they turned south east on the North-South road. Thankfully she had traveled this road many times so she knew where to find the springs and small brooks in order for Arvellas and herself to drink from. As they headed along the road she let Arvellas speed up a bit now that the road was more known and well-traveled as such it was safer to travel at higher speeds. Arvellas had not taken kindly to not being allowed to speed up in the forest, but Eruraviel wouldn't allow that unless they were truly in danger. She did not want her horse breaking a leg. The road was busy as people traveled to the destinations before the final throws of winter set in. she had kept the hood of her cloak up and kept to herself, the other travelers doing the same.

She had talked briefly with three Dunédain about conditions further south and had been slightly reassured by their assurances that the road was clear. She wouldn't let her guard down completely but few things slipped passed the attention of the Rangers. It had now been about three weeks since she had left Imladris and she had passed through the Gap of Rohan four days ago, and Minas Tirith just yesterday. Currently she headed south along the Anduin River and would reach Pelagir in two days. She found herself longing to be in Imladris more than ever, as she realized that the small elven retreat had become her home. It had been a shocking and terrifying realization and she had been forced to remain at her camp for a full day before she had been up to continuing her trip. The realization had been gut wrenching as she had felt horrified that she had been replacing Gondolin as her home, it had felt like betrayal.

Surprisingly, the ones to set her straight had been the very same group of dwarves that had given her, her daggers. They had come across her camp and after they had talked for a few hours, the canny dwarves had easily realized that something was wrong with their elven friend and ally. Pressing, they had gotten her to confess what the issue was before, Barimmic Lavaforge the eldest of the group of Dwarves, had promptly smacked her upside the head.

"Lass, 'tis not the place that's the home 'tis the people. Ye lost yer entire world and all those who mattered. Yer not supposed to suffer in agony the rest o' yer days. Just as ye can love and be friends with more than one person, ye can have more than one home. Be happy, protect yer new home and make all those who seek to harm 'er pay fer it in blood an tears." The scruffy looking ancient dwarf told her. She had thought about what he said all night and while she knew it to be true, it would take more than a few hours to accept it mentally and emotionally.

It had been a very subdued Eruraviel that had continued her journey after parting with the dwarves as they headed north to Moria. As her journey continued she slowly started to accept Barimmic's advice and found that a piece of her faer that had been broken since the loss of her first home had slowly started to heal. As she crested a ridge, she looked down into the City of Pelagir and smiled at the thought that for the first time in over two ages she had a home to return to. Arvellas headed down the ridge gracefully and Eruraviel mentally went through all the questions she could ask without raising suspicions. It took her ten minutes to reach the port cities gates and she pulled Arvellas to a halt next to the city guard. She drew back her hood and smiled at the young man who couldn't be older than twenty years. She was always somewhat saddened at the fast pace that men rushed their lives, but now was not the time for philosophical thought.

She handed the young man her entry documents that she had gotten over three hundred years ago just after the city was founded. They allowed her permanent entry into the port city so long as she wasn't considered a criminal there. He returned he papers and gestured for her to continue into the city. Nodding her head in thanks she directed Arvellas through the bustling crowd towards an inn on the banks of the river. It was next door to a tavern and was the best place to begin her search for took her twenty minutes to reach the inn and dismounting she hooked Arvellas to the tied down post and went inside the weathered looking inn. It was a warm, faded décor that greeted her along with the aged face of a woman long past her youth.

"Why if it isn't the fire elf! We didn't know when you come back girlie you've been gone for so long. We still have your usual room available and you can put your horse in the stable for your usual rate of three coppers per night." The woman that Eruraviel now knew was called Janelle, though she had been younger the last time they met, stated. Eruraviel nodded and handed over a Silver Penny as she would probably be here at least three days. Her room secured, Eruraviel headed back outside and led Arvellas to the small Stable behind the inn. It was nothing compared to the Imladris stables but it would keep her companion warm, dry and safe while she was investigating. She took the time to thoroughly brush Arvellas down and made sure she had a good mixture of hay and grain before taking the saddle and bags back into the inn and up to her room.

Placing her things down and knowing she had about an hour until the tavern next door became filled with dock workers, she headed out to speak with the bar keep before it became too crowded. Barkeeps were some of the best people to ask for information as no one seemed to watch their tongue when drunk and this barkeep was a good friend of hers. She had save his life 35 years ago when he had been caught by a rope line from a frigate and nearly drowned before she had jumped in, cut the rope and swam him to shore. He had told her to take him home as he was unable to pay for treatment but she had waved him off and paid for it herself. She had known then that the tavern was going under because the owner was old and couldn't find someone to take over his business so once the man had healed she had taken him to the bar as he had lost his job due to his broken leg and hip. Both had hit it off and the ex-dock worker now owned the tavern as was quite well off.

As she entered the dimly lit tavern, the smell of sea salt and alcohol was almost overwhelming. She glanced around and noted with approval the clean tables and chairs that spoke of the owners pride in his establishment. She turned and smiled at the shocked older man as she approached the bar.

"Greetings Hellonir, it is good to see you in good health." She told him. She couldn't very well start with the questions as that would just alarm the poor man.

"Eruraviel! It's been so long, it's great to see you how have you been?" Hellonir asked happily setting down the now dry glass and grabbing another wet one to dry.

"I've been good; actually I've met an elf who is quite determined to make me his mate." She told him. The man beamed at her his weathered face stretching into a broad smile.

"That's fantastic! Does he treat you well? Do I need to have words with him?" He asked seriously and she couldn't help but giggle internally. The thought of this worn and weathered man threatening Glorfindel was very humorous. However she knew laughing would hurt the man so she just smiled thankfully at him.

"No thank you for the offer though. He still has some work ahead of him before I'm going to give in. How Melliana been?" She asked and smiled as he beamed at her.

"Mel's been great. We were worried for a bit when she came down with a coughing sickness but some meds from the healer cleared that up in a few weeks. So who is this mate of yours? How did you meet?" He asked as he started to put away the clean glasses in preparation for the after work rush of customers.

"Actually I was headed to Pelagir from Framsburg when I found that an elleth had been kidnapped by orcs. I rescued her and found out she was the wife of Lord Elrond." She stated and saw his eyes widened. Virtually everyone knew of Middle Earth's best healer. Seeing he understood she continued.

"I ended up escorting her home and while there I met an ellon who refused to leave me alone. I found out that apparently I'm not the last elf from Gondolin as this ellon returned to Middle Earth is also from Gondolin. His name is Lord Glorfindel." She said and say Hellonir's jaw drop. She let him stand in silence for a few minutes and absorb what she had told him. She saw his eyes narrow and she looked at him puzzled.

"You know now that I think about it there was a large group of men a few weeks ago who were headed north. They mentioned that they owed a favor to someone down south, and that they were meeting another group later on. But they were acting really strange almost like they were drugged their eyes were glazed and every time they talked it was really raspy like captains on rough seas that spend their whole day yelling." He told her and Eruraviel's eyes narrowed as she thought over the information. This sounded like the same group of human archers she had been forced to kill.

"Were there eight of them?" She asked trying not to sound too eager for information. Hellonir looked thoughtful for a second before he nodded.

"Yes I believe so." He said confirming her fears. This was the same group. She would need to speak with the dock master to see if they came into the city by ship. If they had, she could find out where they came from.

"Thank you for the information. It appears as though that group was to meet with the very same group of orc's that kidnapped Elrond's mate. If you see any more don't press them for information I don't want them to turn on you." She told Hellonir. It was true if another group came through and felt that their cover was blown, they could very well kill Hellonir and Melliana to keep their secret safe. He nodded but still seemed troubled but they could speak no further as the bar quickly began to fill with patrons.

She returned to her room and quickly changed into some black and grey clothes. Sneaking into the dock masters office was not terribly difficult but she still wanted to minimize any chance of being spotted. She left her room via the window and thanked the valar that it was dark. Keeping her hood up to hide her hair she traveled silently across to rooftops for three blocks before jumping down into an ally beside a business that had closed an hour ago. She looked across the street to the rickety building 300 feet away at the base of the docking yard. All lights were out and it looked deserted. Checking to see if any were watching she darted across the road and jumped on to rocks below the road that line to dock yard. Careful not to step in the water lest she make too much noise she traveled across the rocks to the office building and slid behind it so that she was out of sight of the road. She stepped up and looked through the window to verify that no one was in the building. Once the coast was clear she lifted the window and dropped to the floor with nary a sound to mark her entrance. She looked at the shelves full of documents and sighed she need just the one shipping manifest and there had to be hundreds of scrolls here. Oh well at least she was used to going without sleep.

It had taken her six hours to find the shipping manifest and boy was she surprised when she saw that the ship carrying the eight men came from the City of Corsairs, in Harad. Now she really didn't have a choice she had to go to Harad. It was still easier to go by foot as she was sure to be caught trying to sneak in by ship but nothing said she couldn't sneak out by ship. That would cut her travel time in half. She could leave Arvellas here and leave her belongings with Hellonir and Melliana and retrieve both when she returned. Nodding at this plan of action she rolled up the manifest and slipping it into her coat slid back out the window and down onto the rocks below. Retracing her path she returned to her room just before Anor rose in the sky. Sighing she decided to rest for the day and leave her things with Hellonir later tonight when she left. She would take a travel bag with her containing her desert clothes to blend in with the crowd and to hide her race as well as her three water skins and the lambas. For now she laid on her bed and let her eyes glaze over as she enjoyed what was sure to be her last restful night's sleep for a while.

As Anor set, Eruraviel got up and changed into some spare clothes that were travel worn and faded. Gathering and separating her belongings, she carried them down the stairs and next door. After a brief conversation and a silver coin for the inconvenience she left he now secure belongings feeling bare without her swords and bow. She returned to the inn and for a gold coin, they would take care of Arvellas for her until she returned. With those concerns taken care of, she headed out of the city once more handing over her papers for verification. As she headed south towards the desert, she cursed at the heat she knew was coming.

Behind her back at the stables, the young stable hand watched the red haired elf leave and left the stables heading to a small, shadowed alcove 200 yards from the inn. He stepped into the hidden area and cringed when he felt something sharp lightly pierce the skin under his ribs.

"What knowledge do you bring me this time, boy?" a raspy voice spoke softly from behind him.

"An elf just passed through here asking questions about those eight humans I heard her talking to the barkeep about them. She left her horse so she plans on coming back." The young stable hand said nervously.

He felt the knife disappear from his skin at the same time a hand patted him on the head.

"Good pet." Was whispered in his ear before all of the sudden he was alone. Spinning around he saw nothing but two gold coins, laying on the muddy ground.