Teldu's pale blue eyes blinked in rapid succession as she stared up at Fili. Horror and joy warred with each other. Recognition had her trembling with the rush of adrenaline and emotion.
"Please." He held out one hand to her, though what he was asking of her she could not fathom. Forgiveness? Acceptance? What?
"What goes?" The voice registered before she realized she'd been hearing people running toward the kitchen. Wincing, she realized it was because she'd screamed.
Teldu quickly scrambled to her feet, shaking her hands and dusting off her bottom as she tried to go for a rather sheepish smile. "I slipped." She managed to sound embarrassed and refused to meet the eyes of her rescuers. "So much for trying to look graceful."
The two human Rangers looked at her hard, as if trying to discern the truth of her words. They sent Fili blank looks. Then they moved forward as if pushed from behind, which it turns out was the truth of it.
Dern bullied his way from behind the Rangers right between them until he was glaring at everyone in the kitchen equally.
Teldu caught her breath, feeling trapped. She'd always considered her parent's kitchen to be spacious. But filled with two very tall Men, her father, and …well, the rightful King Under the Mountain …it was feeling considerably claustrophobic.
The thickly-bearded father flicked his eyes to both of the young dwarrow and saw how pale they both were. He judged his daughter's wide eyes and Fili's closed off expression. He made a grunting noise and thumped one of the Men in the chest. "Back to the other room."
"Are you sure?" The Ranger didn't look entirely convinced, though the other was smiling and nodding.
"Go, go. Dwarflings being dwarflings, that's all." Dern threw a stern look at the duo over his shoulder. A warning to behave.
Teldu waited until the kitchen door was well closed. Then she waited even further. The silence stretched between her and Fili like a living, breathing thing. Finally she cleared her throat. "He'll be back in a minute." Her voice sounded rather rough and she cleared her throat a second time.
"Teldu." Her name was a supplication.
She couldn't raise her eyes to meet his gaze, staring at his leather covered collarbone instead. "You're denying nothing."
"Do you want me to?"
"No. Yes, I wish you weren't who you are, but then again if you weren't I probably wouldn't be in love with you. And I'm overjoyed that you, the real you, isn't dead. But that doesn't mean that I'm really happy that you, as this you …" She waved a hand at him in general, "isn't the real, real you."
At her admission Fili moved towards her, stilling as she held up a hand to stop him. "Don't." She pleaded.
"This changes nothing between us." He said quietly.
Now her eyes did move up to meet his gaze, finding them brilliant and startling blue upon her. Was his gaze that much more direct, his features that much more handsome, his voice that much more compelling now that she knew who he was? Yes and no. "That is the most singularly foolish thing I've ever heard you utter."
The door to the kitchen opened back up and Dern poked his bearded face inside, looking at the duo anxiously.
"Go back to the Rangers, adad." Teldu said quietly and without force of any kind.
Dern's rather bushy eyebrows beetled over his eyes as he shot his eldest a telling look. Then he glanced at Fili. "I'm on her side of any argument, just so's you know."
The blonde prince nodded thoughtfully. "Safest place to be."
"Just so, lad, just so."
"Is that Prince Lad, or King Lad?" Teldu's voice was still quiet, but there was a slight sting to it now.
Dern winced while Fili schooled his features into a blank mask. "Now lass." He shrugged helplessly.
"It's Coppernose the Elder." The blond said, as if that settled everything. Which it didn't.
Teldu turned and stared at her father until he flashed a grin at her and sighed, shaking his head. "I won't guarantee how much time you'll have alone in here." He told them, gave them each a sharp look and then left, shutting the door firmly behind him.
"Cleadeth can never know." Teldu said quietly. "Secrets are not fond of her and escape at very inconvenient times. And this is a very, very big secret."
"It is Coppernose the Elder." Fili repeated, staring at her.
Teldu blushed slightly, dipping her head. "Far be it from me to argue any point with YOU. But no, you're not."
"I am."
"Never." Teldu shook her head, finally look back up and meeting his eyes. Pale blue eyes against brilliant jewel-toned ones. Neither giving way.
"I would have told you before we were wed." He offered.
Teldu swallowed hard as her eyes widened. "I can never marry you now."
o.o.o.o.o
o.o.o.o.o
"This is a secret?" Arrenis guessed, easily reading the scowl on the younger Coppernose brother. He kept his tone cautiously friendly, non-challenging. He did not want to start an argument with is host, but if there was a hidden way outside it could be helpful.
The brunet dwarrow sighed, quite unhappily, his eyes deliberately not landing on his red-haired wife. Which did not set either male elf's minds at ease. They shared a quick glance between them.
However, Tauriel did not appear abashed at all. She clucked her tongue chidingly even as Bofur reappeared at the doorway. The mustached dwarf had obviously started to undress, his leather tunic askew though still basically in place. Interestingly, the hat was still on his head. Absently Arrenis wondered if the male dwarf slept in it.
"What?" Bofur asked with worry tinging his voice, clearly wondering why he'd been called back downstairs. "Something happening I should know about?"
Coppernose the Younger snorted in disgust while Tauriel spoke up. "There is a passage where someone could go outside the walls and make a discrete check on things."
The two elves watched interestedly as Bofur paled quite thoroughly and some strange sounding foreign words escaped the Younger. Whatever the words meant, they had a feeling they weren't terribly nice.
Tauriel's chin lifted as if she would defend herself against any and all. "This is important. I don't trust those newcomers."
"Ah, lass, neither'n do we." Bofur groaned, running an agitated hand over his impressive mustache.
"I take it there is a way to go outside, but that as outsiders to the town we weren't to know?" Erestor stated the obvious out loud, just to get it out there and stop skipping around the subject.
"No one knows. Not even the town. It's …." The Younger sighed, closing his dark eyes for a moment. "It's a dwarrow thing."
Elves weren't slow mentally, Arrenis sucked in a deep breath and nodded his understanding. Erestor grimaced. "An escape route, if faced with unimaginable foes. Like a dragon. So you build several ways out?"
Bofur laughed without mirth, shaking his head. "Yes, and no." He waffled his hand back and forth to indicate that their guess was only partly the truth. "Ya see, we weigh the need to escape against the possibility of someone gaining entrance. Our way out could become an enemy's way in."
"And dwarves aren't cowards." The Younger Coppernose supplied in an almost surly manner, as if defending his race against a foul charge. We will stand and fight, always."
Erestor wasn't a fool. He nodded quickly. "But you need a way to get the women and children out."
Bofur grunted at the elf's quick understanding even as he crossed his arms. "It's prudence. Not cowardice."
"It's wisdom, nothing more." Erestor said truthfully, drawing a grateful look from the hatted dwarf.
"And a secret." Arrenis spoke up, his words slow and cautious. Not wanting to tread on racial toes. "If you show us how to get out, then we would know the way in."
Tauriel sniffed and shook her head. "It would be impossible to get back in without a dwarf."
Bofur dropped his gaze, a telling move. Erestor grinned suddenly. "Toy maker."
Arrenis looked mildly confused for a moment, then his expression cleared. "The way is protected with dwarven magic."
The hatted dwarrow help up his hand, his thumb and forefinger spread slightly apart to indicate a small amount. "Just a wee touch. Nothing like the old days, the old ways. Not yet anyway."
Arrenis stared, he thought about not asking the next question but could not seem to stop himself. "And if any tried to enter without a dwarf knowing how to work whatever it is you have in place?"
Bofur's lips pursed outward and he smirked slightly, shrugging up his shoulders as if to indicate he wasn't going to answer.
Which was indeed answer enough for both elves.
o.o.o.o.o
o.o.o.o.o
"What do you mean you can't marry me now?" Fili's response to her words was both sharp and immediate.
Teldu smiled at him so sadly he wanted to groan. "Your betrothed, the first one. Arranged. A political match?"
The blond saw the trap lying in front of him but was unsure how to avoid it completely. He nodded tersely.
"I am an apprentice baker from a small trading town. She, whomever it is, is a better choice for you."
Fili said a rather foul word in Khuzdul that had Teldu's spooky blue eyes widening even as she shook her head at him. "No, I don't put myself down. But my name, which I discount not at all, not one bit …is not as high as yours, and you know it."
"Do you think I care?" Fili protested, reaching for her, and frowning as she stepped back deliberately. "I let my own brother marry an elf. Not even a High Elf at that. He married out of love, and I would do the same."
"Exactly." Teldu frowned at him, though her look was almost tender. "Fili. You married one of the two heirs of Durin off to an elf. That leaves you and only you to continue the Line. Durin's Folk. Durin's blood. From whom Durin the Seventh and the Last will be born. You cannot marry without thought. You have to choose wiser than that."
"What makes you think I'm not?" Fili protested, his spine straight and his eyes nearly burning into her own gaze.
The door opened and Nurbera walked in, she took one look at the two of them facing off against each other as if on the battlefield. The dwarrowdam blinked, frozen.
"Dorn already assured me that he's on her side of any argument." Fili said, all the while not looking away from Teldu.
Nurbera gave a weak smile, reaching back for the door she'd just come through, backing up. "In that case, I'll take your side I suppose." With that she slipped back out of the kitchen and left the couple alone again.
Teldu sighed, trying to ease the awful tension in the room. "I'm not a good political match."
"I don't want one. I love you." Fili shook his head at her, his eyes so very serious. "And I've given up the throne."
The dwarrowdam smiled sadly at him. "For now."
"I made a vow never to return to Erebor." Fili grunted, resolute and proud in the sanctity of his word.
Teldu looked at him, so proud and fierce, that she nearly cried with how much she loved him in that moment. Painfully, she shook her head. "You may have forsworn the throne, but you can't forswear your own blood. Who you are. Fili, my love, can't hide who and what you are, not forever. You were born to rule, even if it's not in Erebor. Dwarrow will follow you, even here they do so, especially the ones who don't know your real name."
"Love, please don't."
"You are the last of Durin's line. From your blood will come the next Durin himself. You. You need a wife that will fight at your side, who will rule wisely and well. One who is brilliant and a political match for you."
Fili suddenly grinned widely and triumphantly. "My uncle would have loved you."
It took Teldu but a second before her eyes widened as she realized that he was speaking of Thorin Oakenshield, hero and king, myth and legend already.
Fili reached out and snagged her arm, dragging her up next to his body. He stared down into her face. "I will have a wife that will fight at my side, one who if called up to rule will do so wisely and well. One who is brilliant and a political match for me. Durin the Last will feel privileged to have come from her bloodlines. And she will be a master baker as well."
Teldu groaned, unable to speak because Fili had taken her mouth and was kissing all the breath from her body.
o.o.o.o.o
o.o.o.o.o
Dwalin watched Dis pace back and forth across the room. He eyed the comforts and small luxuries that the dwarrowdam ignored on a daily basis. Her suite here in Erebor was fit for a princess, a far cry from the rough-hewn cabin she'd made into a home in the Blue Mountains.
Dis turned, catching his far-away look. "What?"
The bald warrior refocused his gaze on her and shrugged diffidently. "Dain treats you well enough."
Expressive lips thinned with temper and dark-blue eyes flashed with temper so reminiscent of Thorin that it physically hurt him to watch. "Just because the cage is gilded doesn't make it any more welcome." She spread her arms to indicate the wealth around her.
"I would have broken some of it by now." Dwalin commented, leaning back in his seat.
Dis let out a soft snort of derision, as if to indicate she'd already done that. "It all just gets replaced." Her mouth drooped as she dropped into a whisper. "Only the important things are missing."
Thorin. Fili. Kili. The names went unspoken between the two of them.
"I miss them too." Dwalin spoke very carefully, not dropping his voice. If they were being overheard he did not want anyone to suspect that they plotted. And his words were truthful on many different levels. "They wait."
Dis sent him a grateful look and reined in her temper a bit. They wait. A euphemism among the dwarrow, it literally meant that those mentioned were dead and had moved on to the Halls of the Waiting. Only, in this case, it was code for all is currently well with her sons. They were in no immediate danger. Waiting.
The door opened and both looked over to see two guards studiously not looking at them as they allowed the tall wizard to move inside. Gandalf beamed benevolently at them as they shut the door behind him.
Dwalin stared at the tall wizard, hope in his heart. Though he knew not what he was really hoping for.
Gandalf smiled at him, then over at Dis, who did not lose her frown. "The boys are well?" He asked in a completely natural voice.
Dis' eyebrows shot up as her frown sharpened. Dwalin stood, ready to fight.
Gandalf waved one hand at them. "We are private, I can assure you of that."
"There are ears …." Dwalin started, then stilled as the Gray Wizard pinned him with a striking look. A look that said clearly that Gandalf was completely and utterly sure no one was listening. The bald warrior glanced up at the top of the wizard's staff. There was a small glow. He swallowed hard and nodded, retaking his seat.
"They are not boys." Dis said a bit sharply.
"Forgive me. Dwarrow. Lads." Gandalf smiled warmly. "Two for whom I am most fond."
"You were quick enough to kill them off." Dis started, then groaned suddenly. She ran one hand over her eyes and shook her head. "No, forgive me. I came to you with this plan. This, all of this, is on me. I am the architect of my own misery. It is unfair to blame you for accomplishing the impossible."
"You were the one to orchestrate their removal from Erebor in secrecy." The wizard said soothingly.
Dis smiled, her face pale. "And you who convinced King Thranduil to take them in and heal them. To keep our secret."
"They thrive?" Gandalf asked next. "How goes their recovery?"
It was with some surprise that Dis and Dwalin shared a look, as if they'd assumed the tall wizard had known all this already.
"Come. I am not all-knowing or all that powerful." Gandalf said almost disingenuously, overdoing the humble a bit.
Dwalin cracked a smile. "Reprobate." He chided.
"Perhaps." The tall wizard shook his head. "But I really would love to hear some good news. All I hear is how the Line is severed and that the Dark One is sure that Erebor will fall because of it."
"When?" Dwalin tensed, forgetting for a moment he was no longer attached to the defense of the Lonely Mountain, not technically. He was 'retired'.
"Oh, not for a while." Gandalf mused. "Not for a long while, if I am not mistaken. Sauron feels this place will fall whenever he wills it, so he will wait for the best time. If he takes Erebor now, and the Mirkwood as well as Dale then he knows that other forces will rise against him sooner rather than later. For now, he will wait."
"Do you believe in that stupid prophesy?" Dis asked. "That Erebor will not fall as long as the Line of Durin is strong?"
Gandalf shrugged slightly. "It doesn't matter. Sauron believes, that is all that we need to be concerned with."
Light. Dwalin stiffened. "Liar." He groaned as both sets of eyes turned on him. "If you didn't believe, then there would be no need to hide them."
The tall wizard cleared his throat, as if to tell them he was about to speak something of great import. "Sauron believes. That is all that is needed. If he knew the lads survived, he'd be trying to destroy them and take Erebor now. Regardless of others rising up against him. This is a border along which he doesn't want to fight. As long as he feels it will fall when he wills it, all the more time the king will have to build up his defenses."
"Dain." Dis said the name with no little bitterness. "You say the king, but you mean Dain."
Gandalf drew back, silent for a moment. "For now."
"Do you see the future?" Dwalin asked, almost holding his breath for the answer.
"No, oh no. I have not that gift." Gandalf temporized, deliberately not bringing the Lady Galadriel nor Lord Elrond into the question. Neither had 'seen' anything the dwarves would like, the future of Erebor was still clouded. Even though Galadriel knew that the true heirs to the kingdom lived, while Elrond did not.
What both had 'seen'? That Erebor had to stand. It was the linchpin to this area.
"They live." Dis told him with a small smile. "Apparently my youngest has wed that elf of his."
"Ah, no. An elvish handfasting isn't a marriage." Gandalf countered gently. "It lasts for ten years, unless they have a child or decide to marry or part within that time."
Dwalin cracked a smile finally. "A child." He said leadingly.
For the first time since his arrival, true joy lit the wizard's face from within. Surprise made him grin and even laugh for a moment. "Truly?"
"I am to be a grandmother." Dis said, both pleasure and pain in her voice. "And living in Isengard."
Gandalf's smile dimmed as he watched the dwarven princess. "It is a safe and good place, but I can tell it is not the place that you would want it to be."
Dwalin twisted his mouth a bit, then cocked his head enough to make his neck give a popping sound and he sighed. "Unless we were to disappear enroute."
"Ah." Gandalf nodded sagely. "That would worry Dain. As he feels that the Lady Dis is the last of Durin's Line."
"This bothers you?" The dwarrowdam in question asked pointedly.
"Not really." Admitted the Gray Wizard. "Though I am here to assist him, or really, his wife."
"I wondered." Dwalin admitted. Then he peered over at the wizard who was friend, companion and still a complete mystery. "Will the fact that the king was fully in the midst of Dragon Sickness affect the babe he sired during that time?"
Gandalf sighed and shrugged sadly. "I don't know. I just don't know. Not yet."
Dis snorted unhappily. "A babe that can't be acknowledged because his father is 'dead' and his blood is mixed. A babe that is acknowledged that might be born mad."
"Don't." Dwalin cut her off roughly. "Don't speak ill of the wee babe, not yet. He and his father are still family."
Dis made a face, but nodded.
"So." Gandalf smiled suddenly. "I hear that the two of you have become quite serious of late. I do hope you invite me to the wedding. I love a good dwarrow wedding!"
Dwalin choked on his own tongue for a moment, unable to get a denial out fast enough while Dis simply chuckled.
o.o.o.o.o
o.o.o.o.o
"That." Arrenis stared at the rough crevice with abject curiosity, "would be impossible to locate."
"You're an elf. I have no doubt you'd be able to find it." Coppernose the Younger said in a muffled voice beneath the thick wrapping around the lower part of his face. His dark eyes blinked in the blackness of the night.
"Locate it, possibly. Navigate it?" Arrenis' voice carried his implication that he would find the task difficult. "And now it looks like a solid wall. That would be your work?" He turned toward the equally as covered Bofur.
The toy-maker grinned beneath his muffler, though no one could see the expression. He held out a tall shield to the dwarrow known as the Younger. "Ye can use the ones for the Elder and for Tauriel." He said, holding out the shields as if they weighed very little.
Erestor took one, feeling the weight of metal with surprise. They looked like they should be heavier than this from the size alone. He tried to look closer, but all he could make out was the white tanned leather wrapped around every inch of the shield. "I don't understand."
The Younger suddenly laughed and brought his arm down heavily, digging the bottom of the shield into the snow as he stepped behind it.
He disappeared.
Erestor and Arrenis shared a look of surprise as they realized that the shields served as snow cover. The dark leathers gave them away in the backdrop of all this snow. The white leathers wrapped around the shields gave them coverage, almost camouflage.
Snow at night was tricky, and this was a brilliant strategy. Arrenis whistled under his breath in respect.
"Mountain tactic." The Younger explained, "better at night than during the day but it still works."
"Come." Bofur said. "Let's go have a look and see, it's cold out here."
o.o.o.o.o
o.o.o.o.o
Fili pulled away from the kiss with great reluctance, his left hand cupping her face with his fingers spearing into her collection of braids. His thumb stroked her cheek as she finally opened her eyes to peer up at him, her lips pleasantly swollen.
"I'm still not going to marry you."
The words might have upset him more if she wasn't clinging to him to keep from falling, and there wasn't a delightful smile teasing along her mouth that had so recently been kissing him back quite heatedly.
"You can't deny your king." He whispered.
"You died. Not the king." She whispered back.
"Then you have no reason to deny me. Your whole argument is that you can't marry the king. You can't have it both ways. If I'm the king, then you need to do what I say, if I'm not then there's no problem."
She crossed her eyes at him, drawing a chuckle. "You were born to rule."
Fili shook his head. "I was born in a cabin in the woods on a mountain as far away as you can get. My father was a minor miner, no jokes please. My dam is a princess, my father was nowhere close to her in bloodlines."
Teldu stared up at him, holding her breath a bit. She shook her head. He nipped at her nose, drawing an involuntary squeal from her. He laughed.
"Will the Master Baker assent to marrying an unknown dwarrow of unquantifiable heritage?"
She stared up at him and finally bit her lip and nodded.
Fili sighed and squeezed her tightly. "Now. The bad news."
Teldu put her hands on his chest, pushing back as far as his embrace would allow. She stared up at his eyes in disbelief. "There's more?"
"Dain can't know. Sauron can't know. No one can know. There is prophecy, elvish witches, wizards, and a lot of other garbage but what it comes down to is I am a danger to you."
"I know."
Fili shook her slightly. "I mean it. To you, to any children, to your family, all of it."
"Idiot king. I knew that the moment I realized who you were. Are."
The blond groaned and leaned in, touching his forehead to hers. "Of course you did. You're brilliant and my uncle wouldn't just have loved you, he'd have begged you to join the family."
"He didn't like your original betrothed?" She asked, because well, she couldn't help it. Jealousy wasn't fun, but it wouldn't be denied.
Fili sniffed. "He approved her bloodlines well enough, but found her irritating. Frankly, I don't think he cared one way or the other. It was mam who picked her out."
Teldu heard the fondness in his voice when mentioning his mother and approved. Though she did frown a bit. "And her reaction to me?"
"Are you joking? My mam will love you." He grinned. "You're not an elf after her baby after all."
"Oh you!" Teldu grimaced even she chuckled.
Fili sobered and looked into her eyes as he took a deep breath. "I have only once been in love and I plan on marrying her, if she will have me."
Teldu met his gaze and held it steady with her own, though her voice trembled slightly all of a sudden. "Does he plan to start a war?"
Fili grinned and shook his head. "Do orcs and goblins count?"
"No." The dwarrowdam smiled up at him. "Do you mean to take your rightful place?"
Sobering, Fili could deny her nothing. "I have vowed not to return to Erebor. But that is not my only rightful place."
"Khazad-dum." She whispered the ancient name reverently. "They say that's impossible."
"They said the same of Erebor." Fili countered, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Durin's Bane is there. Some say it died long ago, but Cousin Dain says not. In this, I believe him."
"There was a dragon at Erebor." Teldu pointed out. "Do you have plans?"
Fili shook his head. "Not now, not yet. Maybe not in my lifetime. Certainly not while Sauron is a threat to Erebor. Maybe. I have no definitive plans as yet."
"Even death can't keep you from being you." Teldu whispered up at him.
"Does nothing frighten you?" He asked, marveling.
"Your mam." She teased, partly serious. Then she sobered. "Khazad-dum will need bakers, once you free it."
Fili growled and stole her lips once more.
o.o.o.o.o
o.o.o.o.o
They weren't hard to find. Kili and Bofur were having a difficult time in the heavy snow, using their large shields to essentially plow through the stuff as well as for camouflage.
The elves, to the dwarve's disgust, seemed to walk on the snow rather than in it. Still, they too used the shields to keep themselves from being observed.
Both elves and dwarves had excellent night vision, making quick work of observing their quarry.
Arrenis made a few hand signals that Kili did not understand, though he garnered their meaning without difficulty especially when the elf pointed back the way they'd come. The dark-haired prince nodded, not even feeling the cold anymore, more focused on what they were facing.
Wind and sound were tricky, and no one spoke until they were safely back in the caverns of the Coppernose mine. Which had turned out to be the way out from behind the town walls in the first place.
Erestor watched in open fascination as Bofur resealed the now nearly invisible door. "Wonderous." He murmured.
The toy-maker smiled grimly, but shook his head in denial. "I tinker, but am nothing like the past masters. This door is far too visible for my liking. Hardly hidden at all."
Arrenis shot his fellow elf a telling look with a single raised eyebrow.
Kili caught the look. "What?" He demanded, though not angrily.
The ligher-haired elf shrugged. "What you call too visible, is an amazing thing to us."
"Funny." Kili laughed at the elf in restored good humor. "This is nothing compared to the magic of the elves I've heard in the sagas."
Erestor nodded but shrugged. "Ah, but that magic is beyond us now."
"Us'n too." Bofur finished up with a grin. "The age of magics is waning, so we'n been told. The age of Men will be next, unless Sauron has his way."
"Told?" Arrenis asked curiously.
Kili paused, not wanting to mention their knowledge of and friendship with a certain Gray Wizard.
"Aye. Gandalf." Bofur apparently had no such qualms. Kili resisted the urge to kick him.
"Saw the wizard once, passing through." Kili tried to play it off.
To his credit, Bofur was quick on the uptake. "Aye. Grand tall he was, though taller with that hat he'n wears. Heard him talking about it."
"Good ears you must have." It was an invitation to say more.
Kili ignored Erestor's curiosity, leading the way out of the mine. "I'd say at least 35 of them. Not enough to take the town by force."
"I counted at least 37." The darker-haired elf followed behind him. "And if the gates were opened from the inside, I'd say their chances increased. Especially as they count on a trading village and not well-trained guards."
"Indeed." Bofur grunted. "We need a plan."
Kili grimaced, his mind focused. "Hunt down and imprison those inside the town. Let the others freeze to death. They're running a cold camp without a fire so as not to give us warning. Let it be a VERY cold camp then."
"Let's get started then." Arrenis agreed.
o.o.o.o.o
o.o.o.o.o
The Younger Coppernose brother blinked wearily at the sight of their prisoners. Each and every one had protested their innocence. But quick searches of their 'trading' supplies turned out to be weapons, and even poisons.
It was near dawn. Erestor watched the brunet dwarrow peer up at the lightening sky. "So. Will your compatriots think you failed, or that you left them out there to freeze?"
No one answered him.
The dark-eyed dwarf sighed. "You heard that noise about an hour ago? Sounds of fighting? That was my brother and the town guard taking care of your friends."
"Or the other way round." Came one harsh muttering.
The Younger smiled grimly and pointed. The Elder Coppernose brother was walking through the main gates with a group of well-armed guardsmen of both Men and Dwarves. His sword was still unsheathed, and while not dripping with blood, it was hardly clean.
The prisoners all paled, some started cursing while others began calling for mercy.
The Younger Coppernose walked over to Erestor. "Those accents are not from Ered Luin."
"Easterling, if I would have to hazard a guess." The tall elf agreed.
"Slavers? This far north?" The brunet dwarrow shook his head. "And poorly provisioned with mounts. Something is amiss."
Erestor thought so too, but was impressed with the dwarve's discernment. "I agree."
They both watched as Mirrenda's people moved through the prisoners, listening and taking note of anything important. A wave from the Elder, caught the attention of the Younger. "Excuse me a moment."
Erestor nodded, even as Arrenis made his way toward him. The two elves watched the dwarrow brothers as the blond one cleaned his sword and the brunet one spoke about a mile-a-minute, complete with hand gestures.
"Want to guess that he's explaining that it was his wife who told us about the secret passage, and not he?" Arrenis murmured.
"No wager, I'd lose." Erestor returned with a small smile. "The Elder didn't look happy when he found out we'd already been outside the walls."
"No, he didn't." The lighter-haired elf paused. "He fights extremely well. Focused." He'd gone out with the guardsmen to rout the would-be invaders.
Erestor nodded. "I like those shields. Useful in snow to shoot from behind one. The Younger explained how they used them, and how they adapted them for use here."
"Did he explain what they are made from?" Arrenis asked in a leading voice just barely a whisper.
Erestor turned and gave his friend a look, asking without speech.
"Stray arrow hit one, no worries, no one injured. As if a normal arrow could pierce mithril."
Staring at a decidedly smug looking Arrenis, the darker-haired elf shook his head. "Not possible."
"Tore a small strip off the leather. I may not know dwarven toys, but I do know the difference between silver, iron, steel, and mithril. I do know a bit of smithing work, though it's been several centuries since I've last worked that precious metal."
Because Moria fell. The only modern source of the metal that resembled silver, but was stronger than steel and lighter than both.
Erestor turned his eyes back to the two brothers. Arrenis did the same. Both were thinking, and neither was coming up with any plausible solutions. Just one of those four shields could have bought this whole town twice over at the very least.
Who were these two?
They played at small town life. But they were well versed in tactics and weapons. They were smart. They were apparently quite wealthy.
And they were hiding.