A/N: This chapter has been long in the making. The next one will definitely be posted sooner. I am sorry for the delays.

"Wake up!" Elros chirped from the doorway.

Elvorn slowly drew his eyes open, squinting against the bright sunlight wafting through the dirty windows. The morning was still young. The room was cold from the winter's icy fingers slipping through the window panes. The ellon focused his dark eyes on his elder brother, who was still standing expectantly at the door. Elvorn had no idea why his brother had woken him. "What is it?" He questioned groggily.

Elros strode forward and leaned down over his brother, gently placing a strong hand on Elvorn's warm shoulder. He gave it the slightest shake, trying to aid his brother in coming from sleep. "What?" He asked, wondering if he had heard properly.

"What is it?" Elvorn said cautiously, wondering at his brother's change in mood. He had certainly not expected this… Though, in truth, he knew not what is was that he had expected.

" We have to meet with Osgar. He may be leaving the settlement today," Elros spoke.

Elvorn understood now, or at least partially. He nodded pushing himself from the soft, warm sheets that enveloped him. "I will be up and ready soon," he assured while rubbing a palm over his face and subsequently attempting to push his ruffled mane of dark hair down. It felt too early.

Elros smiled. He himself had woken up early as the first rays of light had peeked over the treeline. It had been a beautiful morning, clear and cold. "I am going to make breakfast while you are busy."

Elvorn nodded. "Okay." He swung his feet over the bedside and stretched his toes. "I'll be there."

Elros stepped into the main room whilst Elvorn trudged to the sole washroom in the house. The older brother immediately went to the fire and put a kettle of tea to boil. He took a deep breath and watched the flames lick the pot while he waited. Whilst the distraction played for his eyes, his mind roamed over the day's needs and awaiting experiences. In truth, Elros had barely slept all night. His thoughts had been dominated by the past and the mysterious stone that Elvorn had found. He had a mind to persuade Elvorn to show Osgar the trinket before the old elf left. As much as Elros didn't like the Sindarin ellon, he had come to the conclusion that Osgar would be the only one to know any information about it (that is, if there was any pertinence to the stone). It would be folly not to take advantage of his superior knowledge of lore in this matter.

Last night, Elros had checked every book he possessed on anything that could decipher the writing on the small stone. His search had been in vain to say the least. He pushed the failure from his mind, determined not to ponder any longer on the problem. It would lead him in circles. He had more important things to consider, like how he was going to persuade Elvorn to show Osgar the blasted token.

He hoped that his brother would see the wisdom in just showing Osgar for the sake of using the elf's expertise. He may see the wisdom, but lack the courage or tact," Elros thought dryly to himself.

Elvorn's boots thudding on the wood floor snapped Elros from his musings. He quickly stood and took the tea from the fire. He placed the kettle on the table just as Elvorn turned into the main room. He was dressed darkly in a shade green easily mistaken for black. His garb contrasting starkly with his light skin.

"You look good," Elros spoke, wiping his hands on his own light grey trousers as he eyed his brother.

Elvorn gave a half smile as he sat down at the table. "Thanks," the elf spoke distantly. Now that he was up, he felt that he didn't want to be. It had to be the grief that was settling over him Elvorn told himself. He remembered feeling this way when their father died. He supposed he would never get used to it… The ellon didn't ever want to.

Elros levelled his gaze on Elvorn for a few seconds. His brother didn't seem to notice Elros' scrutiny and the elder turned his attention back to the breakfast. It certainly wasn't much but they did have some honey and scones that Elros' wife had made. The pastries were somewhat stale but the honey was sweet and the tea was wonderfully strong. He poured a cup for his brother and pushed the dish of scones and the jar of honey to Elvorn.

The movement caught Elvorn's attention and his wandering eyes fixed from the world outside the window to the food before him. He leisurely began to dress the scone with drizzles of amber honey. "Thanks," he said half-heartedly and began to nibble on the edge of the pastry. Only as he ate, he realised how hungry he was.

Elros ate quietly for a while, almost hesitant to break the silence that the brothers had fallen into. His thoughts threatened to wander far away, however, and he had to say something before they got too far away from him. He decided to speak about their plans for the day… or better yet go to plan and bring up the black stone that was bringing up so much ruckus. "If Osgar is leaving today do you want to show him that trinket you found?" Elros asked feigning nonchalance, but knowing how blatant the question sounded… like a dagger shoved through a thin layer of ice…

Elvorn perked up slightly. A worried expression came into his dark eyes. "You think that I should?"

Elros' dark eyes never left his scone. "What do you think?" He answered. He didn't mind leading his brother but, in the end, he did want Elvorn to make the final decision.

The younger brother mulled over his prospects. "If I don't bring it up, I don't think that I will ever be able to find out what it is. On the other hand, what does it matter. You remember that necklace that we found on that dead orc in the forest yesterday. It was trivial."

"It wasn't trivial. It gave Osgar enough information to deem a direction," Elros interjected. He did not doubt that the Sindarin ellon would be able to glean at least a morsel of enlightenment from Elvorn's find.

"Even so, what kind of information could it give him…" Elvorn trailed off. "I suppose the writing on it can be significant. If he can figure out what it says than perhaps it can point him in a more specific direction." Elvorn's thoughts continued along that track. His voice had taken on the familiar tone that Elvorn often adopted when he was unravelling a riddle. "Even if he cannot read it, he has ties to the king himself, and surely the king has someone in his palace skilled in lore. I don't know why an orc would carry a polished stone on his way to a skirmish," he reasoned. The meals were now entirely forgotten.

Elros merely stayed quiet, allowing his brother to separate the threads on his own. A smile tugged at the corner of the older brother's mouth as he marvelled on how methodical Elvorn was in his thinking. The trait was certainly one of his little brother's strengths.

Elvorn's continued shifting as another possibility dawned on him, refuting his last statement… "But if the orc that we found in the forest yesterday thought it was good to carry his mate's charm necklace even to a sacking such as the one…" His voice trailed off and a look of doubt shadowed Elvorn's countenance. He changed the subject, quickly adding, "The charm necklace gave Osgar a clue so even the most trivial item seems to be of some value in an investigation," Elvorn concluded mirroring Elros' previously spoken words.

Elros watched his brother quickly change the subject nervously. He honestly had no idea what sort of tangent Elvorn had been leading onto, but it clearly disturbed his younger brother. However, it obviously didn't matter. It seemed to Elros that Elvorn had come to a decision by the light in his eyes. "You are going to show it to him then?" Elros prodded lifting his eyes to meet Elvorn's.

"Yes," Elvorn pronounced, giving a curt nod. He dipped his head again and looked outside the window. "Yes," he repeated, sounding almost relieved.

Elros smiled. He was glad he hadn't had to do much to talk his brother into finally showing Osgar the stone. If the trinket did not bring to light anything worthwhile, the brothers would be no worse off and if the polished rock did hold some grand secret the two could send Osgar one step closer to the eradication of the beasts that plagued the north… and not to mention far away from Acomb. Elros smiled again then finished off his scone and tea. "Well, muindor…" He lapped a dribble of honey off his finger. "When do you want to head out and find Osgar?"

Elvorn "We better go find him, now," he said after finishing off the half of scone he had left.

Elros nodded, "So be it," Elros said as he pushed himself from the table.

XxX

The weather was still mightily cold. The morning was young, the golden sunbeams reflected off the pristine snow, making the ground seem as though it was covered in a thick lace. Elros pulled his fur cloak tighter about himself and continued walking towards Anwaren's home. He hoped the Sindarin ellon had not left to continue his journeys yet. They had not seen Osgar in the square among all the other townsfolk gearing up for the beginning of a new day of work, but the ellon could have decided to stay out of the way on his last day in Acomb.

Elros glanced at his brother, who was strolling along Elros' right. Elvorn's face held a look of deep determination. Elros was proud of his brother in that moment. He knew that bringing something so important up was going to be somewhat difficult to Elvorn who did not normally hide the truth from anyone. He hoped the elf would actually complete on his determination. If not, Elros would simply have to make the jump. Even so, Elros preferred not to have to speak of this thing.

His thoughts jumped to wondering again why the stone in Elvorn's pocket was such a concern to his brother. He shook the idea from his head. He had been down this path of wondering before and he needn't waste time thinking on it again.

Elros lifted his head to take in the shimmering, white surroundings while the two brothers trekked down the snowy road. It would be better to focus on what was going to go down after Osgar was gone. Before this morning, he had not the slightest clue as to what he would be doing. His heart still panged with grief at the loss of his companion, but his resolve solidified once again. I will just have to move forward, he thought to himself. How he would move forward and what exactly forward meant was unknown to the Nandorin elf at this particular moment –

"What if he is not there? What if he left already?" The cowardice in Elvorn's voice was evident. The younger of the two had a look that spoke volumes about what had been going through his head.

Elros shook his head. "Don't think like that. All will be well." Elros placed a hand on Elvorn's back as he continued. "If he is not there then fate has decided that the stone is not important," Elros rationalised. He picked up his pace only slightly. The faster they reached Anwaren's home, the less worrying Elvorn could get himself snagged up in. Indeed, Elros knew there was only a bend and a straight before they came upon the clan leader's homestead.

Elvorn's brow furrowed as he considered his elder brother's words. "I suppose you are right." He paused. "But what if the stone is not important and Osgar is still present?"

Elros did not skip a beat. "Then we were still meant to speak to Osgar before he left. Everything is meant for something. I thought we already had this conversation?" Elros asked wryly.

Elvorn raised his eyebrow but kept his mouth shut. He wanted to amend the remark… Instead, he retained his reply to the boundaries of his mind. Everything may be meant for something, but whether it be good or ill, is another subject. Instead, Elvorn answered Elros' rhetorical question. "Aye, we did." He tried to not sound dejected.

"Don't worry," Elros said in a slightly lower tone just as the pathway rounded a small grove of alder trees. He took his hand from his brother's shoulder and picked up his pace.

Anwaren's small cottage was in view now. It stood cosily tucked in between two stretching arms of forest. The house itself was built of quarried stone and wood beams. A stack of smoke rose steadily from the chimney and there was movement in the window of a busy elleth. Elros grinned. While he may not have been fond of Anwaren, the man's wife and children were delightful.

He retained his smile as the two stopped at the door and Elros knocked. Elros could almost physically feel the anxiety cresting and rolling of his brother. Elros unconsciously gave the ellon a bolster from his own fëa and waited for a response from inside. He was just about to knock once more when a small female opened the door.

Her face brightened when she realised who it was. "Elros! Elvorn! So nice to see you again!" Tauriel smiled. She pulled open the door wider to let the two grinning elves inside. She gave both ellyn an embrace, but as she wrapped her thin arms around Elvorn her cheerful face fell. "What is wrong?" She asked carefully. Her mother had told her about the horrible thing that had happened to the two ellyn's wife, but she felt this looked different. Like the look of friend in trouble with an elder. "Are you alright?" She asked, her jade eyes flicking between the two faces of her friends.

Elros gave a warm smile in reassurance and he lined his deep voice with kindness. "We wish to speak to Osgar. All is well…" He lowered his voice and leaned down to whisper closer to the young elleth. "But Elvorn has a secret to share with him." He straightened, his smile growing when he saw the comprehension brighten the girl's face. "Is he here?" Elros inquired.

She nodded. "He is outside with adar. They are speaking about something and did not wish me to hear," she explained.

Elros exchanged a glance with his suddenly uncomfortable brother. Elros knew the last thing Elvorn would want to do would be to interrupt a conversation between Osgar and Anwaren. If Elros were completely honest with himself, he himself would love to interject the ellyn's talk. "They are in the back?" Elros clarified lifting an eyebrow at Tauriel.

Tauriel grinned, nodding again and unable to contain her glee at the hint of mischief in Elros' sparkling eyes.

Indeed, the ellon had not been so glad in a while.

"Maybe we…" Elvorn began but Elros did not him finish. He draped an arm firmly around his younger brother's shoulders and made for the back door of the house. "Thank you, Tauriel," Elros said sweetly. "Please inform your mother that we are in the back speaking with Anwaren," he said as he led his brother out of the hall and towards the back door.

"Okay," Tauriel chirped.