Chapter 17

In Colombia…

Estel was brooding for most of the next two days of hard travel between Ciudad Bolivar in Venezuela and Cartagena in Colombia. Each member of the party who could drive took turns while the others slept, stopping only when needed for the border crossing, gasoline, and the necessities of eating and using the privy. Although, the bookshop owner wasn't entirely convinced the Numenorean man had gotten any sleep worth mentioning as his mind always appeared to be on what lay ahead. Jim was concerned for his friend, and he was not the only one.

For that reason, Jim was thankful that their passage through Colombia and across Colombian highways had been, unexpectedly, rather unextraordinary. The border guards and patrols were professional for the most part, there were no unusually interested police or military that wanted to question them, and had there been those with criminal intent at the infrequent stops which they made, one steely look from Estel or Eltariel was all that it took for them to quickly forget their ill conceived plans. Even the scenes and scents of the variously mountainous and forested landscape outside of the cities across which they traveled had actually been quite lovely and invigorating. For all he had assumed about Colombia and had heard about its checkered history, Jim found it to be far more stable and pleasant a country than had been let on.

They were two hours out of Cartagena when they had stopped again out of necessity around noon at a fuel station in between Baranquilla and Puerto Colombia. While not entirely deserted, the station was mostly empty when they had pulled in, affording them some small amount of room to walk about privately without other eyes on themselves or their luggage. They had all gotten out of the truck to stretch their legs and walk around. Radagast in particular was completely unused to such travel and as such, the older gentleman was bearing the worst of it with the leg cramps and slight claustrophobia he was experiencing. Jim thought he heard him muttering something about never having that problem with his rabbits. The Englishman felt it prudent to not inquire about the wizard's meaning.

During their trip, the brown wizard had been an otherwise interesting traveling companion to say the least. Jim had never before believed that mere trees could have such complicated lives or stories, or animals for that matter, and Radagast had plenty of tales about them both. The Englishman came to understand more about how the wizard saw the world, and it was something of a unique point of view. To him, all living creatures were "people" and deserved to be respected as such whether one was a man, a monkey, a mosquito, or even an oak tree. Though, to be sure, Radagast despised mosquitos even as he chose to respect their right to exist. This was made perfectly plain to all listening.

There was also the breadth of the wizard's "lifespan" to be taken into consideration. Regardless of how he appeared or smelled at times (Radagast certainly preferred to go au naturale), he was not human. Like the Elf woman who was also their companion, the wizard had seen thousands of years pass by him, and often appeared to have difficulty separating the years and epochs of time in his mind. He was apparently confused on the point that most of Europe was no longer ruled from Rome, for example, and was glad to know that the Americans had settled their civil war over a century and a half before. In spite of these almost silly lapses in basic knowledge about relatively recent history, and his absolute, almost willful ignorance of any modern technological device such as a computer, smart phone, or even the gasoline powered truck in which they were traveling, there was a wisdom and a compassion about Radagast which was uncanny. He knew every herb and plant they came across, and addressed them all as though old friends. Once when they were stopped, Jim heard him making strange noises to something in tall grass only to find out he was having a friendly conversation with a local group of rodents and congratulating a mother on her recent childbirth. Another time, Jim heard him speaking with a too thin, mangy dog that had wandered close with growls and barks. There had been a sullen, compassionate look on the wizard's face and the Englishman wondered if the animal was relating its whole, sad life story for which Radagast was attentive and empathetic. As a whole, Jim felt humbled and fortunate to have been able to travel with him and experience all of it. It had opened his eyes to a world to which he hadn't truly paid attention before then. From Sam's wondrous, and sometimes awed expressions, he knew his best mate felt the same.

Jim was considering all this when he spied Estel standing apart by himself beyond the pumps of the fuel station for just a moment, looking towards the northwest. The Englishman chose to hazard a conversation with him, and approached him from behind.

"Is everything truly alright, Estel?" Jim asked, knowing they were out of earshot of the others. "You haven't quite been yourself since the phone call you placed."

"I'm fine, truly, my friend. My thoughts are just on what's to come." The Numenorean replied, not as convincingly as he could have. "There is much riding on this. Very much indeed."

"Well, if you'd like to talk, you know where to find me. Or any of us, for that matter. We've all been concerned about you." Jim returned, meaning to leave it at that and let him be, returning to the Hilux.

Estel sighed, and turned to face him, saying, "You're a good man, Jim, and a good friend, but I'm not certain you would be able to understand."

Jim shrugged, gave a half smile, and then replied, "Try me."

"It's not just us who now goes to face this darkness and the army Radagast says has been raised. By invoking my rightful title, by summoning my kinsmen as their king, I ordered them, some of whom I have never met, and do not even know personally, to fight and possibly die in what's to come. I ordered them to leave homes, jobs, wives, and children to fight for a cause they knew little if anything about until two days ago. I summoned them to travel to where we were expressly forbidden by Elendil to set foot, breaking an ancient prohibition. All of these things are my responsibility, and I will answer for them if things go ill." He explained, his voice cracking with emotion as he did.

"It's their choice if they answer the summons, isn't it?" Jim asked.

"Only if they wish to be cursed as 'oathbreakers' and exiled from our family." Estel replied. "They would lose everything and much more. It is not a fate I wished to be responsible for, especially not with those I have never met."

"Oathbreakers?" Jim asked, recognizing the term from both his gaming and his Tolkien studies. "You don't mean…?"

"Yes, I do." Estel replied gravely, with a heaviness which made him seem older even than his hundred and three years. "To break one's oath to the king of Gondor, even Gondor in Exile, is no small crime. It incurs a curse, a purgatory trapped between this world and the next that can only be released by the king or his heirs."

"Like those of the Dimholt who made their homes under the mountain." Jim offered, beginning to understand the source of Estel's brooding melancholy, and why he had been hesitant to even invoke his birthright in the call with Arwen. "You're right. I couldn't begin to understand what that must feel like." The Englishman answered honestly. "But they all knew this when they took this oath, didn't they?"

"They are told of it when they come of age. They are given the choice and most say the words solemnly as a rite of passage among the remnants of the Dunedain. But for many I have observed among my kin, especially among those who have left Cerin Amroth to live among the rest of men, it is treated much as many of the English treat baptizing their newborns. They say the words because of a family or societal obligation, but they are little more than a tradition whose requirements they never expect to fulfill." Estel remarked. "I imagine this message will be an unwelcome one at the very least."

Jim winced at the mention of the English and their traditions. All the more so because the observation was keenly accurate. He himself had been baptized Anglican as an infant, but had done little in the way of renouncing Satan or following Jesus Christ since. It was a situation within himself that he had come to wrestle with since meeting his new friends and the reality of the power behind such sacred things.

"Like signing a contract without reading the fine print because you must, only for the fine print to bite you in the end when it comes back around." Jim observed.

"True enough." Estel managed a smirk at the analogy. It was the first hint of a smile Jim had seen in days.

"The Lady Arwen of course knew this consequence as well." Jim then commented. "I heard the conversation. You tried to call for help without invoking this. She pushed you to do it, knowing what it might mean for the rest of your folk. Why?"

Estel was silent for a moment, and then said, "I can only speculate, but it may have been because of my father."

"What do you mean?" Jim questioned.

"When we were certain Hitler had the ring and was using it, it was my father's responsibility to confront him and retrieve it. He too had all the resources and powers of our line at his disposal, but he chose not to send the summons of the king. Knowing him as I did, I would imagine it would have been for the same reasons it weighs so heavily on my heart. He asked for volunteers among our folk who were already there in Germany residing at Cerin Amroth. Many chose to go, but not all, and none from outside our enclave were called. We could never mount a full scale assault for the lack of men. Our own clandestine attempts on the Fuhrer were unsuccessful, and my father lost his life during one of them, as did most of those who went because there were not enough of us to ensure our success. This is the reason why the villas and houses at Cerin Amroth are so empty. My grandmother has never said as much, but I believe she attributes our failure then to his refusal to own the crown he was born to wear, and invoke our people's oath. I believe she thinks that if Gondor in Exile had raised its army one last time, we might have ended this in the 1940s, and millions of people need not have died. Knowing my grandmother, she does not wish the same mistake to be made again."

"Raised its army? You said there were only a few dozen of you left." Jim asked, confused.

"At Cerin Amroth, and who are, like myself, active in our service to see the ring destroyed. But as for the rest of our kinsmen who have taken the oath, I truly do not know the number, it is a great secret even to me. They are cousins of cousins, and children of cousins who have moved out into the rest of Europe to live their lives as they would, getting married, raising families as they can, and blending in. The Lady Arwen knows them all, and keeps such records close to her breast. I have nothing to do with them and have never seen them. I would see them continue to live their lives in peace if I could."

"So, for all anyone knows, there really could be an army of people which has been called?" Jim tried to process the thought. "The Lady Arwen could have sent the message to hundreds, even thousands?"

"Or there could only be a few dozen more than I knew of. But yes, it is theoretically possible." Estel replied. "Only my grandmother really knows for sure. And if they come, will they know how to fight? Will they have the heart for what we must do? I have been fighting, one way or the other, for nearly all of my adult life. I was taught and trained by my father, my grandmother, and even Eltariel and those skills were tempered and honed in true, bloody battle and conflicts again and again. Can the same be said of those who haven't given a thought to their oaths until they are suddenly called upon? Had I the choice, I wouldn't have dared to place them in such a position. I would protect them all from such things as I have seen if I could. I would protect you and Sam from the dangers you must face in the same way, though I know that fate will not allow this either."

So spoken like a true king of his people. Jim mused, but did not verbalize. It is truly a loss for Europe that he will never lead it as he was born to. With such leaders as we now have… What could we have become with such a line of monarchs so concerned with the welfare of their people before their own? Would it be in the mess it is right now?

"We all of us have our own parts to play in this story, whether we want to or not." Jim then answered him. "We don't always get to choose the roles fate would have us play, we can only act them as well as possible and hope we make a difference I suppose."

"Wise words." Estel responded. "Regardless of what happens, or how this story ends, Jim Frudd, it has been my privilege to have known you."

"No. The privilege has certainly been all of mine." Jim replied.

They both returned to the truck, and the party returned to their journey on the road towards the historic, and even iconic Colombian city of Cartagena. After their conversation though, Estel's mood seemed just a bit lighter, and though he was as determined as ever, it seemed as though his expression was not so heavy as it had been.

"We have a problem." Eltariel announced upon her return from making inquiries.

The five had checked in to the Cartagena Hilton Hotel overlooking the sea while they made preparations to travel farther north. It was a relatively comfortable, modern resort hotel with a gorgeous view of the Caribbean Sea to the north and west. Though none of them had given any thought to treating it as a holiday, nevertheless, it was a welcome respite from the cramped traveling conditions in the Hilux for all of them except perhaps Radagast, who continued to look uncomfortable and out of place in his new, urbanized surroundings.

Captain Francois' warning about not being able to traverse the Darien Gap, the stretch of roadless wild forest and swamp in between Colombia and Panama had not been lost on them, and finding a solution to the insurmountable problem was of paramount importance. Upon hearing at a previous stop that there might have been a ferry to carry their vehicle in-between the two countries, it had only seemed logical that they stay close to the marina and docks of the city while those arrangements were made.

Except Eltariel's news put all such hopes to nought.

"There is no ferry in between Cartagena and Panama. The last one to run was four years ago. The only way to get across the Darien Gap is to fly unless we want to make a three day hike through the jungle with a local guide, something those I spoke with thought akin to suicide for the dangers involved." She informed them of what she had learned. "No matter what, we will have to leave the truck here, and we will not have a vehicle to keep going once we arrive."

"We can expect those who answered the summons to be arriving in Costa Rica in four days." Estel told them. "We need to be there at least by then. We cannot do that without our own ground transportation unless we risk the airport, and the wraith will have eyes there looking for us."

"Just how wide is this stretch of no man's land?" Sam asked. "And why's it so dangerous?"

"It is about a hundred kilometers give or take between the nearest town in Colombian and the end of the highway in Panama." Eltariel replied. "And there are no border crossings in between, so there is nowhere to get the right travel documents. The nearest Panamanian Consulate is in Baranquilla, two hours back the way we came. As for why it is so dangerous, I have been told many things, and that most people who try are never seen again. First, there are no roads, and if there are trails they are not meant for anything except those on foot. Furthermore, there are still rebels and drug smugglers, wild animals, wetlands that will swallow a man alive, impassable rivers, and more. These do not sound like insurmountable challenges to me, but the locals were quite insistent on the foolishness of it. It sounds much like the tales of the old forests I had heard from long ago."

"An hundred kilometers. Is that all? Even at a crawl that's three or four hours at the most in the truck." Sam asked, though his eyes were concerned for the description of what lay within those hundred kilometers. "Is there no way to cross it in the Hilux with its four wheel drive and all?"

"I remember the trees of the old forests." Radagast then mused aloud as he sat on a modern style bleach white couch in the hotel room. "They were good oaks and ash for the most part. They only became so very violent and angry for what had happened to them and their companions. I spoke with them many times to try and soothe their hurts, but they were very angry. It would not surprise me at all to find the same anger here."

"Could you help us get through there?" Sam then asked the wizard. "Could you talk to the trees and animals and such? Make them see we mean no harm, and we're just trying to pass through?"

The brown wizard pursed his lips in thought. "I suppose. I could speak to them, yes, I could do that. But as for their response, it all depends on them and what they want." he answered.

"We could run back to Baranquilla tomorrow morning, first thing, get the visas we need, and then head for where we need to be to cross the jungle the next day during the daylight." Sam said, speaking as quickly as the plan formed in his head. "We could make sure we've got the extra fuel and supplies with us just in case. Then we head in, Radagast chats with the trees and animals and explains our situation. Maybe they'd help us out if they knew why we needed to get across so quickly? Then we get to the highway in Panama, and we've already got our travel visas so there's no problem there. Then, it's on to Costa Rica."

"That's…" Jim had no words for the desperate madness Sam's plan represented.

"I suppose it could work." Radagast then said, nodding as he turned it over in his head.

"Are you serious?" Jim asked.

"Well, yes. Why wouldn't I be?" The brown wizard answered him, puzzled that the Englishman would even question it.

"What about the rivers, and the rebels, and drug runners?" Jim asked, memories of the illegal Brazilian miners and the firefight that had ensued on their meeting running through his mind. He then turned his eyes to Estel who appeared to be considering all sides of it in great detail. "What do you think about this?" Jim asked the Dunadan lord.

Estel replied after much thought, "My kin will be arriving in four days. The longer it takes for us to arrive, the more at risk their lives become than they will already be. We need every advantage on speed we can get, and still be able to maintain the element of surprise as much as possible. With Radagast's aid, it is more possible to achieve this than otherwise. Criminals and thugs do not frighten me, but losing our window of opportunity does. I believe it to be worth the risk."

"And what about the rivers?" Jim asked.

"I suppose this young lady and I might have a word with them too." Radagast suggested, glancing at Eltariel. "River spirits can be quite stubborn, but not altogether unreasonable if you are polite to them. Do you remember the five sisters in Gondor?" He addressed the question to Eltariel.

"I've never had the pleasure, wise one." Eltariel replied.

"Pity. They were such good hearted spirits. They did much to help against the Easterlings and Haradrim of Sauron's army, or so Gilrain once told me. Such a sweet river." Radagast mused. "I could have listened to her voice all day. Oh wait, I think I did once!"

Jim blinked several times blankly as his mind attempted to comprehend the wizard's words. He knew, at least in The Lord of the Rings Online, to what Radagast was referring. His own avatar within the game had spoken with them as well and run quests with them. Be that as it may, he had no idea that they were anything more than the game developers trying to come up with quest lines or story ideas in addition to the canon material of Tolkien's works.

"So it's settled then? We run the Darien Gap and hope the trees, rivers, and wildlife will be willing to help us?" Sam asked.

"Unless anyone else has a better plan for getting us there on time?" Estel asked, looking at each person, ending with Jim.

Jim reluctantly shook his head. He truly wished there was a better plan, but he had nothing and no more time to put one together.

"Then we eat and rest tonight, and get underway after breakfast tomorrow morning." Estel pronounced. "The day after, we see what mood the forest is in to receive us."