Celegorm has to rescue the twins again.
10. Elflings Overboard
Suddenly there was a scream and a splash. I knew that one of the twins had fallen overboard. Crap.
The fog was as thick I could barely see more than an arm's length before me. I tied down the rudder to keep the boat from swerving. I scrambled towards the bow guided by touch just in time to hear a second splash. Now both twins were in the water.
"Elured! Elurin!" I yelled into the sea of fog. It clung onto the surface of the water, forming eerie shapes and shadows, any of which could be a struggling elfling. I unhooked the bow-lantern and held it over the side, trying to spot them.
"Help!" I heard a weak cry. It sounded too far away. No, it is the fog. Fog muffles sound.
"Keep calling!" I shouted in the general direction of the cry. The boat was still being pulled along by the slow current. Surely I could not have drifted that far away. I replaced the Feanorian lamp. There was no way I could swim with it and rescue the boys. I pulled the heavy dwarf-shirt off and kicked off the boots. They would drag an elf to the creek-bed in a heartbeat.
Rope. There was long coil of rope under the gunwale. It felt slimy and rotten but I prayed it would hold. I tied one end to the boat's prow and the other around my waist. Taking a deep breath, I lowered myself into the fog and water and started kicking. The water was deep here, deep enough to swim. I struck out in the direction of the cries.
I found Elured first, splashing and bobbing, trying to tread water while clinging to a floating mess of rotting reeds. I tried to calm him down but he was in hysterics. Thankfully, the fog was lifting.
"Rin went under!" he bawled and pointed at a clear spot of water some yards away. I could spy small bubbles breaking the surface. Crap. I dove into the inky black water. Beneath, the surface, it was pitch black.
I felt only weeds as I groped about. I could not feel the bottom beneath my feet. Running out of breath, I surfaced for a quick gulp of air before diving again. Elurin had to be somewhere close. The current here was slow. He could not have been washed far from where he had disappeared.
On the second dive, I forgot about the tethering rope. My leg got entangled in it and I wasted precious seconds untangling myself. Something bumped into me on the third dive. Immediately I thought of the fearsome water-lizards of the south we had heard tales of from the Edain. Beasts that would sooner rip a man limb from limb than look him in the eye. I bit down to keep from screaming and kicked away.
No, it was not scaly like the legendary water-lizard but soft. I grabbed it before it could float out of reach. I felt soft hair between my fingers. Elurin.
Tucking him under my arm, I kicked for the surface. We popped up a few yards from Elured. I took hold of the rope around my waist. It was still attached to the boat downstream. I called to Elured to grab the rope and swim back to the boat with the aid of his makeshift float.
I half-swam back to the boat as Elured pulled us in with the rope which had defied all predictions and held. I untied myself once in the boat. Sitting down, I placed Elurin's chin over my shoulder and thumped his back. He gave a cough which spewed a flood of fetid creek water down my back before letting loose a beautiful wail. We were all soaking wet and reeking of the creek.
The creek widened before us. The current was taking us along at a steady pace now and the danger of mud banks and rocks seemed distant. A cold wind blew and the twins started shivering. Exposure was a risk I was acquainted with in my travels. Even an elf could easily fall prey to the cold and exhaustion.
There was no place or means to start a fire here and the Feanorian lamp gave off no heat. The little ones were shivering so hard their teeth chattered. I needed to get them out of their sodden stuff. Ignoring their half-hearted protests, I ripped their sodden shirts off their backs. I draped them over the gunwale and hoped they would dry.
"Come here," I shuffled to the centre of the boat and picked up my dwarven shirt, draping it over their shoulders the best I could. It was not quite enough to warm them. I hugged them close. I did not understand how we could be feeling the cold so keenly now but keeping warm was vital if we were to reach Mandos before freezing… wait, can one freeze to death if one is dead?
I rested my chin on their damp curls and drifted off to into reverie.
"Nana!" Elurin's voice roused me into wakefulness. The boat was approaching a pier just like the one in my vision. I untangled my frozen limbs from around the twins and clambered over to the rudder. I realized we were no longer bare-chested but wearing simple white smocks. The clothes we took from the Dwarven Halls were gone. The boat had been transformed too. No longer was it the battered craft we found but a Telerin swan-boat, both gleaming and graceful.
I picked out figures on the pier. One was an elleth clad in a grey gown. The other two were definitely Maiar of Lord Namo's. They scowled at me menacingly as boat glided ever closer to the pier. One held chains in his hand. I swallowed hard.
The elflings leapt onto the pier and into their naneth's arms as soon as one of the Maiar pulled the boat in for mooring. The Maia hauled me roughly out of the craft and clapped the manacles onto my wrists and neck.
"Celegorm Feanorion, Lord Namo has been waiting for you," the other one declared. "You have been a very bad elf. Now come with us to face his judgment."
I heard a soft gasp behind me. I turned to see Nimloth pulling her sons behind her protectively. Two pairs of eyes peered at me in bewilderment. A tug on my chain almost sent me sprawling flat on my face.
"He's not all bad. He is kind to us!" Elured piped up.
"He save us from mean dwarves," Elurin added.
"Stop them hurting us…"
"And he save us from river, when we fall in."
The Maia holding my chain raised a questioning brow. "Lord Namo will take your deeds as reported by the sons of Dior into consideration. Be mindful that your deeds in life weigh heavy against you."
"I accept Mandos' judgment," I replied softly and lowered my head. This was it. Our paths part here. The Elurussa will go with their Nana and Ada to the Elven Halls where they would rest and await their rebirth into Aman. Me? Lord Namo probably has some dungeon waiting even if he is not tossing me into the Void.
Silently, we climbed the steps up to the Halls by the cold light of the Feanorian lamps. With my hands bound together and a grumpy Maia tugging on my chain, I stumbled often on the uneven steps. The Elurussa would dart forward to offer a hand to steady me lest I tumble over the side into the abyss.
Finally we reached the end of the steps and a great gate which the Maiar opened with some password. We were ushered by more Maiar down a hallway which opened into Lord Namo's throne room. Mandos was sitting on his throne, a pale hand beating out an impatient tattoo on the armrest.
"Greetings, Tyelkormo, Elured and Elurin. We have been waiting for you a long while. Now I shall pass my judgment on you…" his voice boomed. The very air seemed to shiver around us at his words. The Elurussa gave a squeak of fear and pressed their small faces into their Nana's skirts. The shadows and swirling air around us started to take on semi-solid forms.
"We hear you, my Lord. Could you please lower your voice a bit so as not to alarm the elflings?" I could not resist making a snipe and giving a crooked smile. I heard the thwack of a palm hitting a forehead.
"Kormo, you fricking idiot," I heard Moryo hiss. "One does not sass back to a Vala." I glanced to where the voice came from. Moryo was there standing beside Curvo. The Ambarussa were also there. Clearly some time must have passed outside the Halls, for the pair seemed wearier and battle-worn. One was sporting a raw gash down his cheek. I was not sure who. Some arms' length away stood our Arafinwion cousins, Finrod and his brothers. Fingon and Uncle Fingolfin were standing nearest to Mandos' throne as if they were his heralds.
Lord Namo raised an inky brow before breaking into a smile. "Very well, Tyelkormo," his words still echoed about the cavernous room but they were not as harsh as before. "Elured and Elurin, you may leave with your mother for the chamber prepared for you. There you will sleep and rest. Any questions?"
"Where's Ada?" Elured asked innocently.
"Will we get to see Huan again?" his twin added. The Vala chuckled.
"Your sire is resting in private for some time now, pondering a choice offered by Eru Iluvatar to both him and you. Your mother will bring you to see him and let him explain the choice to you. The decision you make will answer the second question," the Vala explained. "Now, I will pass judgment on Turkafinwe Tyelkormo of the House of Feanaro." An ominous hush fell over the assembly.
Author's Notes:
Next chapter will be the last.
I toyed with having Mandos and the Maiar using Sindarin, the lingua franca of Elu Thingol's court, as I doubt the Elurussa would have been taught Quenya. At the same time, I think they would have referred to Celegorm by his Quenya name.
As to the choice offered to Dior and his sons, it is the same one which will be offered to Elwing, her husband and their offspring.