Chapter 31

The White Wizard

To whoever might have been looking at him right now, as he climbed the stairs leading to the palace, Galaren seemed to be his usual, composed self.

In reality however, his mind was restless.

The three weeks mark had come and went, with no sign of Lithien anywhere. He knew of course, that there were plenty of reasons as to why she might be running late. From weather, to the company she might be keeping, to the unforeseen detours and delays they might have encountered before parting ways. Considering everything, her being a week late, should not worry him too much.

But he knew his sister.

And so, the reasons his mind supplied him with were not ones he wished to dwell upon for too long.

Lithien could say whatever she wanted about caution and not making the same mistake twice. He knew she was completely honest when she swore to never put him through such a distress ever again. He also knew, that when she told him of what she wanted to do, she had every intention of keeping to her plans.

To be honest, it was a wise move on his sister's part; if it was his decision to make he would send neither of them into Mordor, but as things stood, sparing even a few of them of the fate that awaited them was enough to make him agree with her.

They both knew what happened to most people who ventured into Mordor, regardless of how prepared they were. And the Fellowship, especially without Gandalf's advice was woefully underprepared for what awaited them behind the sharp ridges of Emyn Muil.

He told Aragorn as much, even if he knew, just like the ranger did, that they didn't really have a choice right now. He hoped that Aragorn will at least try to deter the others from going.

And as far as he knew, he did try. Neither of them however, took into account the fierce, if blind, loyalty that managed to bind the group together throughout their travels.

It was the same loyalty that has always pushed Lithien towards rash, and often dangerous, acts. The same loyalty that he tried to mitigate, for her own good.

The same loyalty he admired, and envied at the same time.

Or rather, he envied her the freedom to hurl herself headlong after whatever her heart told her was the right choice. He couldn't – lives of too many people depended on his orders. He had to keep his choices rational.

That's why, regardless of how often he had argued with her afterwards, when she returned to him, battered and bloody, he was also glad that she was there to take over and do what he did not dare to. He owed his life to Lithien's burning need to save everyone she ever cared for.

And he wasn't the only one.

He knew, that his sister will throw the caution to the wind at the barest hint of danger and with it, every plan she had told him of. Especially, whenever Aragorn was concerned.

Would he truly want her to stop doing that? If he was to be completely honest with himself, the answer was no. That fierce loyalty born of love was burned into her bones in the same way worrying about her was etched into his.

Some things, he decided, were better left unchanged.

Lithien was smart. She was capable. She proved that to him, time and time again, regardless of his desire to grab her by the shoulders and rattle some sense into her, whenever she gave him that self-satisfied smile, often adorned with the glimpse of her bloodied teeth.

His mind whirred to the present, when the guards at the entrance to the grand hall straightened and greeted him.

As much as he tried, he couldn't guess the reason behind his summoning. If it was about shifting guarding spots, all of the captains would be present. And the messenger told him, explicitly, that it was his presence that was requested. Besides, the last shift wasn't even that long ago and with the danger growing beyond their borders it was better to keep the guards to the terrain they knew well.

The other thing that immediately came to his mind after the messenger had left, was Lithien. Then again, if something happened to his sister, no one would have kept him in the dark for longer than necessary and call him all the way to Caras Galadhon only to rely such news.

'My lord?' a servant appeared next to him like a ghost, once again proving that his mind was wandering. 'If you would please follow me. They are waiting…'

For a split second, Galaren was forced to reevaluate his earlier reasoning. Who was waiting for him? Maybe something did happen to the Fellowship after all?

'Of course' he nodded and forced his mind to focus. Wondering would not help him right now.

But the servant was not leading him to the hall where he usually received orders and missives, and Galaren had to forcibly push another array of thoughts from his mind.

They climbed the winding staircase, until the golden leaves of the mallorn tree has engulfed them. They were well above the level of the main hall when the servant stopped, bowed and then motioned for him to step over to the platform hidden behind a white curtain.

He nodded and did as instructed.

Only to wish that there was a wall behind him to lean on.

The space was rather small and furnished only with a long table, currently set up for a meal, and matching chairs. Three people sat behind it, facing the door and looking at him.

Galaren had no doubt, they didn't miss his reaction, regardless of how fast he had gathered himself together and knelt in deference.

He couldn't look them in the eyes just yet. They would see, he was sure of that, the sudden surge of anger that burned through his veins.

Gandalf was sitting to Lady Galadriel's right. He looked remarkably well for someone who was supposed to be dead.

And maybe it wouldn't have fazed him as much, if he hadn't seen the impact his death had on the Fellowship. He saw them mourn him. He saw them blame themselves. He cradled his sister to his chest as she wept.

His death was the main reason why Lithien even came up with the idea of accompanying the Fellowship for a bit longer. Why he had decided to let her go, instead of trying to keep her by his side.

And the wizard was sitting there now, looking at him with an expression that was bordering on amusement.

'You may rise, Galaren' Lady Galadriel's voice drifted over the room.

He took a deep breath and forced his fingers to relax; he hadn't noticed when they have clenched into fists. He stood up, pushing the unsavory thoughts to the back of his mind.

'My Lady' he addressed, bowing his head. 'My Lords… You have requested my presence?'

As soon as the full weight of lady Galadriel's gaze fell upon him, he knew that his attempts at hiding his thoughts were futile.

She smiled at him. It was brief, but unmistakable. A gentle touch of their minds did not offer explanation, but carried a quiet reassurance.

Galaren allowed himself to relax a fraction. It led him to believe that Lithien was alive and well, at least for now.

'Considering your involvement with the Fellowship during their stay' lord Celeborn spoke. 'We decided it would be better if you found out about the recent… events directly from the source and not from the gossip.'

Events. The circumstances of Gandalf's return were the last thing that interested him now.

'What does that mean?' he decided to ask, not waiting for his mind to be read.

He didn't want his mind to be read. He wanted to be anywhere, but in this room right now.

'It means that my task is not done yet' Gandalf had said; as if that explained everything.

Except, he has already failed at his task as far as Galaren was concerned.

He made a mistake of glancing into Galadriel's eyes again.

He saw Lithien, kneeling in front of the Lady and accepting the dagger from her hands. He heard them talking. He felt the heavy-hearted acceptance of his sister, even if she was not entirely sure what she was agreeing to.

He didn't understood that either. Only that her choice was for some reason encouraged.

He knew better than to argue with that.

'I know you are worried about your sister' Galadriel spoke out loud and blinked releasing him from her stare. 'It is an admirable quality' he could not exactly read the meaning behind a smile she graced him with. 'But it was her choice and thus she is where she is supposed to be right now. And for whatever comfort it can bring you, her path never lead into the land of Mordor. You are dismissed, Galaren.'

He could feel himself bowing rather awkwardly. He knew that this couldn't be the only reason, why he was called and that he was simply given the opportunity to flee. To sort out his thoughts.

Which wasn't something he had allowed himself to do, until he was climbing the stairs of his house.

He knew the revelations about Lithien were supposed to ease his mind. After all, wasn't her going into Mordor, following a misguided conviction that she could somehow turn things around, what he had feared the most? Was he not afraid of losing her, the same way they had lost their older brother and, in a way, father there?

Galaren however, found himself to be too angry to focus on that.

That anger only flared up as he entered his study and found it occupied.

'How did you…' he wasn't quite able to catch himself, before he sighed. 'Never mind… What do you want?'

Gandalf folded his arms over his chest and didn't move from the armchair he was sitting in.

'To talk. I don't have to read your thoughts to know that you are angry with me' the wizard said. 'And I understand why. But would it change anything, if I said that it was not my intention?'

'What wasn't?' the ellon scoffed. 'Going into Moria? Putting them in so much danger? Or… dying and shattering whatever hope they had for their quest to succeed?'

He should have waited for the wizard to respond. But the silence stretched and Galaren decided to indulge the thoughts dancing at the tip of his tongue.

'You should have seen them when they came here, wounded and bloody, with nothing but hurt in their eyes. Aragon's back almost breaking beneath the weight of the responsibility you saddled him with, without a warning. Frodo, blaming himself as if he was the one to push you off that bridge…'

'I didn't know…' the wizard admitted, before looking straight at him, eyes inquisitive. 'Haven't you ever made a misguided decision?'

'I have' Galaren said. It was drilled into him that every mistake was a lesson and he learned not to be ashamed of them. At least not outwardly. 'I, however, do not claim to know everything. If you had a sliver of doubt, Lithien was right there, willing to lead you through a different, much safer path…'

'I am sure you are aware that we were attacked…'

'Oh, I have heard… five different accounts, telling me that if you wouldn't stall and follow Lithien right away, then you wouldn't have ended up trapped…'

Gandalf stood up swiftly and crossed the room to face him directly, the frown on his face deepening into irritation.

'You think I have done this on purpose?'

'I do not have enough proof to be sure' the ellon replied bluntly. 'But given that we know what the situation is like in the mines for years, I will not believe that you, of all people, were completely oblivious to the dangers of heading there.'

'We were forced into the mine by the storm on the Redhorn Pass…' the wizard frowned and seemed to change his mind. 'I don't have to justify myself to you…'

'You don't' Galaren agreed. 'Frankly speaking, I am not even interested in what you might have to say. What's done is done. But the fact that you feel the need to say those things, to me of all people, only means that you know how wrong you were. And it gnaws at you.'

Silence answered him and he knew he had struck a chord.

But there was a little satisfaction in that. It changed nothing. The damage was done. There was now a disheartened group of people heading for Mordor and the Ring waited to prey on their weakened wills.

Was that why Lithien had not returned yet?

'Is this why Lithien went with them?'

'I am sure that you already know that…'

'But I want to hear this from you. I will be departing shortly and there are some questions I need you to answer.'

That at least, piqued Galaren's interest.

'My sister isn't blind. And I think she reads people better than you; she knew from the moment they left the mines, that without you the fate of the mission was tossed up in the air. We have agreed that in this case sending them to what is very likely going to be their doom is cruel and unjust. So she went with them to hopefully provide a safe way out to those who might face some second thoughts about the last leg of their journey…'

'None of them was bound by any promises to go to the very end.'

'I know. And they knew that too. But Sam, Merry and Pippin refused to let Frodo leave Shire on his own. Legolas is a longtime friend with Aragorn and we both know that, if tearing her heart out would protect him, Lithien would do that without a second thought.' Galaren sighed. 'Not to mention that when you fight and bleed together, it connects you. Boromir could barely speak with my sister without contesting her competence when they first met, and yet he rushed in to save her twice, not caring about his own safety. We have tried that with Aragorn, Gandalf. We spoke with them and explained over and over again, that they do not need to leave Loth Lórien. That they will be safe here. Suffice to say, it did not work. Lithien went in the last ditch effort to maybe get them to have some second thoughts…'

'And undermine the whole quest?' the wizard asked. 'Why would you do that?'

Galaren shook his head.

'The quest was already undermined and I am sure I am not the first person to tell you that. I don't think we should be blamed for trying to make the situation better… Now, let me ask you… why exactly are you here? What your next step would be? I am smart enough to realize, that I had not been told everything yet, and I would very much like to not be kept in the dark as far as my sister is concerned.'

Instead of answering, the wizard returned to the armchair and sat down, visibly relaxing. He looked at him then, as if he was, in fact, trying to read his thoughts.

Galaren presented him with an unimpressed frown.

'Do you know where your sister is?' Gandalf asked, when it became obvious that he was not going to join him at the desk.

'Right this moment, I do not' the ellon admitted. 'If she was to return alone though, she would have already done so. Which either means that she has company, or that not everything went according to the plan. Considering everything, I am inclined to think it is the latter.'

'And you are so calm about it?' once again, the wizard seemed faintly amused.

Galaren had no idea if he was making an attempt to rile him up and if so, then why, but he had been dealing with this ever since Lithien was old enough to start contending his authority.

He would have to try harder in this case.

'I don't think you should make such assumptions' he replied, his voice as collected as it was through the entire conversation. 'I do worry about my sister. I always did. But I also know what she is capable off. How much she can handle. Not to mention that she is in the company of people who would do anything to protect her.'

'And what about you? What would you do to protect Lithien?'

'Gandalf, I have no idea what you are trying to achieve here? Do you mean to insult me? If you claim to know my sister, to know how far she is willing to go to protect what's important to her, then you should have no trouble understanding that I would do the same, and more.'

Gandalf smiled. Galaren felt his irritation rising, but ignored the instinctive incentive to keep it in check.

'Also, if this is the way you usually needle her until she agrees to follow your plans' he continued. 'Then I fully understand why Lithien compares you to an irritating thorn in her side.'

'Somehow, I do not suppose these would be her exact words' the wizard smile widened.

'I was being courteous' Galaren replied. 'I hope you can finally speak plainly now. What she had gotten herself into this time? How this ties into whatever is the reason of your reappearance? And what do you need me for? I need details. I need to know what to expect.'

'It's hard to say just yet. But I suppose we were all so focused on what laid ahead, that we missed the threat that could slip behind our back…'

'Saruman.'

'You know?'

'I lead border guards – I need to be aware of every danger they can encounter no matter how small. Besides, Lithien was here with Elladan, long before your fellowship have departed from Rivendell. They have mentioned the threat of Isengard. This is one of the reasons we have decided that travelling by the river would be the wisest move. Fast and not leaving the trail easy to follow.'

'It was a good decision. If Saruman wanted the Ring he had to make a move to snatch it before they crossed into eastern plains…'

'And he did' now, it seemed obvious. 'Do you know what happened?'

'Not the details. I know that they were forced to split. Someone was captured, the others are now in pursuit. I will find out the rest when I'll meet them.'

Galaren thought about it for a moment. He was assured that Lithien was fine, at least for now. And that she did not go to Mordor. He knew, that she would not allow herself to become captured. Which meant that she was now tracking down whatever force Saruman had sent to intercept them.

'When do you leave?'

'Soon. By nightfall to be exact' the wizard stood up again. 'And while I admire your readiness to throw everything and follow her, you will be of much better use to her if you remain here' he walked over and put his hand over the ellon's shoulder. 'I am afraid that the war may be upon us soon. That it will start in Rohan. And that Rohan is too weak to face the enemy; a time may come when they will need help.'

Galaren shoved Gandalf's hand off his shoulder.

'And you will dangle my sister in front of me as an incentive to do what? If you wanted reinforcements, you just needed to ask; no one would deny you.'

'Lithien chose to go' the wizard reminded him. 'I know you likely won't trust me now and I can't blame you, but I do not have the power to influence such events; I never did. And I am asking for your help.'

Galaren straightened and folded his arms over his chest. Everything was clearer now, but part of him still felt like he and Lithien had been fooled. Dragged into something they wanted no part in.

And it stung.

'Lithien can always count on my help' He finally decided to say. 'And I suppose you should leave, if you are in such a hurry.'

He didn't want to entertain the wizard anymore. He was tired of curbing his annoyance. And he had too much to think about.

'Thank you' Gandalf had said and much to his surprise, obliged his request, leaving him alone in his study.

When, sometime later, he heard Celume's voice carrying upstairs he went out to meet her.

The night settled quickly over Farngorn.

Lithien and Legolas followed their new trail, as long as they had light, but the forested hills were getting steeper the closer they got to the feet of the mountains and the dusk turned into the darkness so deep, that even their keen elvish eyesight could not pierce it.

Not willing to stray too far from the path they followed, they decided to wait out the night beneath the nearest tree.

What little of the wood they managed to find refused to burn, and they quickly gave up on trying. It was difficult to believe, that the creaking of the branches they heard every time anything larger than a few sparks had struck the wood, was caused solely by the barely noticeable wind.

They have spent the night sitting back to back and switching between listening to their surroundings and short moments of rest. Lithien couldn't say she has gotten any at all. The forest was eerily quiet about them, and even though nothing disturbed them, not even a curious animal, it had been a while since she felt so much uneasiness beneath the trees. She did not feel threatened, but the silence surrounding them was unnatural and it unnerved her.

As soon as there was enough light to pick up the trail again, they resumed their trek.

'Stop running' Legolas called after her, obviously amused. They were climbing another hill, though trees still grew very close together and the leaves obscured the sky.

'I'd rather not spend another night here, if I can help it' the elleth responded. 'And injured leg or no, Aragorn will start looking for us if we won't return to them soon…'

'I am sure that Gimli will find a way to stop him from doing something rash.'

'Oh, he certainly would' she replied, stopping at the top of the hill and waiting for him to join her. 'The true question is – do we really want to bear the consequence of that?'

'You do have a point; Aragorn is distraught enough as it is...' the ellon looked downhill to where the other set of the strange tracks was clearly visible. 'Where do you think this is leading us?'

'Not towards Isengard clearly, which is the only good thing about this whole affair… come, we are too easy to spot up here' she added, then proceed to gracefully slide down the gentle slope. 'We are unfamiliar with the terrain and right now we are walking deeper and deeper into the forest. At this rate, if the trail does not stray, we should reach the feef of the Misty Mountain by noon. We have no idea what we find there, but what is worrying me most is that… the forest seems to be shifting.'

To her surprise, Legolas remained serious, when she expected him to laugh at her.

'Even if it is, we are not a threat to neither the trees, nor their guardians, if they are even still here.'

'While I do find your optimism uplifting' Lithien tried to sound stern, but it fell flat in the light of the smile brightening his face. 'We have already established that we have the same feeling about those woods… and other matters' she added lowering her voice. 'I would say we are considered to be intruders at the very least. Do you think, that if were perceived as such, we will be allowed to find our way back?'

The smile on Legolas face did not waver.

'Your brother is rubbing off on you.'

'And I actually regret it did not happen any sooner. Maybe then things would have turned out differently… But maybe it is you who is right and I am worrying needlessly.'

'You blame yourself too much. And unlike Aragorn or you, for that matter, I do not think Galaren would hold your choices against you.'

Lithien blinked, the comfort his words actually brought her catching her by surprise.

'Won't he?' she asked, shying away from the feeling and turning away before he could follow that question.

They resumed climbing and weaving between the steep hills, but it soon became a steady climb. The higher they've got the further apart the trees grew and they once again felt the sun and wind against their faces; a true pleasure after the overbearing heaviness they have left merely a few feet below.

The deep impressions they had been following so far were disappearing against the rocky ground, turning into the spots of crumbled stones and grass, looking as if a small tree has been uprooted and moved elsewhere.

The slope grew steeper and they were soon climbing what appeared to be a set of very steep stairs cut into a rock. It was a quick climb and soon enough the last of the trees fell away and the stone edge opened before them, basking in the midday sun.

It was leaning against the steep mountain side. The other side opened to the sharp edge and a high drop into the forest below. The only way to climb down was the path the just came from.

The warm, sunbathed space was empty. They walked towards the edge and the view of the forest. The rich, gleaming green of the leaves stretched in every direction; a sharp contrast to the shadowy silence beneath them. Even further still, Rohan unfolded its grassy plains, framing the ancient woods. As they turned around and looked below, they could see the treetops straining to reach them and between them, they could trace the road they took to get here.

There was no sign of anyone else's presence nearby.

Lithien sighed, giving in to her mounting frustration.

'And now what?'

'I suppose we can assume they came back down the same way' Legolas said, bending slightly as if to better see into the forest below. 'The trail probably branched away and we missed it.'

'Well I wouldn't split ways even if it did. But we did not find any evidence of the hobbits presence for quite a while. What if we were so occupied with those strange tracks that we missed something vital?'

'It felt right to follow it, didn't it?' Legolas was still preoccupied with something below and barely looked at her. 'Let's not start to doubt ourselves now...'

'What is so interesting?' She asked, leaning over to follow his line of sight.

'Somebody is down there.'

'Our pursuer?' she asked, her eyes now scanning the same spot he was looking at.

After a moment she could see it too, a shadowy figure passing swiftly from one tree to the next. Blending with their surroundings as well as any elf would.

'I am not sure yet.'

'Are we going to wait until we are?' Lithien lowered her voice to a whisper. 'If Eomer's words are true, it might be too late by then.'

Legolas merely nodded and reached for his bow. Lithien did the same and they drew arrows together, aiming for the stranger.

They waited until the figure climbed even further up, proving that they were clearly following them. They could now see the thick grey cloak and hood obscuring their face. The tall, elegant staff the stranger was using. And the unmistakable glimpse of white robes hidden beneath the cape.

They released on the same breath. The arrows barely made any sound as they flew.

With a sharp crack, they were knocked out of their path, harmless. The stranger picked up their pace and headed straight for them.

Legolas cursed and shot again. Lithien drew her sword.

The stranger all but leapt across the last few feet of distance landing gracefully on top of the ledge. Legolas bounced back, nocking another arrow. Wanting to buy him a few more seconds, the elleth launched and struck.

Her blade sang as if it was blocked by steel, not the wood of the staff.

Then, with surprising swiftness, the stranger swung the staff and shoved her backwards.

There was enough strength behind that blow to almost sweep her off her feet. Lithien wavered and found her footing, but that strength was still there, bearing down at her. She struggled against it, but no matter how much she would strain, her hand remained lowered, her sword pointed towards the ground.

She glanced quickly towards Legolas and realized that he too was frozen in place with the arrow barely half drawn.

He glanced at her and she understood that he knew, they could not win this fight.

Lithien brought her attention back to the stranger, who for now seemed satisfied with merely keeping them harmless.

'Who are you?!' she sneered. 'I saw you at the edge of the forest! You spooked our horses!'

'You track the steps of the two, young hobbits' the stranger responded as if he did not hear her. 'They passed through this spot, the day before yesterday. They've met someone… they did not expect.'

The voice sounded familiar and yet not so.

'What have you done to them?!' Legolas demanded. 'You have been stalking us since we have set foot into the forest! Show us your face and answer!'

'I don't suppose you are in a position to make demands, prince Legolas.'

'If you have bothered to come here in person then it certainly wasn't to strike us down, faceless like a coward!'

'If I wanted to strike you down, I would have done so when you were still together. But I am not your enemy'.

Lithien scoffed and was opening her mouth to argue, but the stranger reached for his hood and pulled it off.

'Impossible!' was the only word that left her mouth, before the power holding her still vanished. It was so sudden that she had toppled backwards, her sword clattering against the stone.

'Forgive me' Legolas said and when she turned to him, he was bowing his head. 'I mistook you for Saruman.'

Lithien glanced back up and found a hand extended towards her. She pushed it away and stood up on her own, taking a cautious step back.

The last time they saw him, dangling over the pit in Moria he looked disheveled and desperate. Now his hair were neat and as white at the robes he wore beneath what was clearly a Loth Lórien warden's cloak.

But it was undeniably Gandalf, down to the faint amusement he was looking at her with.

'What are you doing here?' she asked.

'Lithien…'

The wizard braced himself on his staff and chuckled.

'Merry and Pippin were much happier to see me. Your brother, on the other hand, was equally unimpressed.'

'You are not the first one to be returned' the elleth retorted. 'And why we should feel anything else? You have fallen to your doom and now you reappear like nothing had happened…'

'Lithien!' Legolas spoke again, more insistent now.

'Galaren had told you, didn't he?' she continued, narrowing her eyes at the wizard. 'He must have… should I pick up where he left off? Tell you about the disaster our journey ended with?!'

A hand closed on her shoulder.

'What?!' she whipped towards Legolas. 'Should I thank him and weep?! For what? The fact that Boromir is no longer here to witness him?! That Merry and Pippin are lost in this forest, likely never to be found?! Or that Frodo and Sam are alone in the wilderness and in much more danger than they could probably imagine?!

'Whatever he did' the ellon said. 'He did it to protect us. We wouldn't have escaped Moria without his sacrifice.'

'And what good it gave us in the end?' she countered. 'Your quest has shattered before it could even reach Mordor…'

'The tides are turning yes, but it is still not too late to change them' the wizard said, his gaze shifting between them. 'And I was sent back to hopefully help with that.'

Lithien opened her mouth to respond, but the hand on her shoulder squeezed gently, silencing her.

'I think that we would both appreciate, if you would stop speaking in riddles and started to be honest with us' Legolas said with an air of quiet authority, she didn't know he was capable of projecting. 'You owe us at least this much.'

The elleth smiled, realizing that he shared at least part of her qualms.

'And I will, once we return to Aragorn and Gimli… It is too long of a story to repeat it…'

They looked to each other. They've lost enough time in this forest already and the sooner they would made it back to the other two, the sooner they would be able to figure out their next move.

'At least tell us what happened to Merry and Pippin' Legolas said as they were climbing down. 'You've met them here, but they are not with you, so where are they then?'

'They are much safer than you are about to be' Gandalf replied.

'That's enlightening' Lithien muttered with a frown.

'You do not need to worry about them for the time being, is that clear enough answer for you? I always thought you were more open minded than your brother.'

'My brother is cautious' the elleth countered. 'As his position demands. I am his person whenever recklessness is in demand and the fact that he keeps putting up with it, is a proof enough of his open-mindedness' Lithien pushed herself off of the step and jumped the last few feet down, onto the forest floor.

'And whatever he told you, I have no doubt in my mind that he was right. And much more polite about it, than I was about to be.'

Gandalf smiled.

'You would be surprised.'

Somehow, the trek back to the camp took them much less time than heading into the forest did. Lithien was inclined to believe that it was because whatever existed here was glad to see them leave the woods, and not because of Gandalf and one of his tricks.

The sun however, was already setting, when they came to the edge of the forest.

What greeted them, and wasn't all that surprising, was a very loud curse and a throwing axe that would have struck Gandalf's shoulder if Legolas hadn't pull him out of the way.

'Gimli wait!' Lithien called. 'This is not what you think!'

'Why would I believe you?!' the dwarf called back. 'You can already be under his spell for all I know…' his hand froze halfway towards another axe, when he recognized Gandalf.

Behind him, Aragorn staggered to his feet, obviously shocked.

'How...?' his eyes flicked to Lithien. 'You fell…'

'We would very much like to know that too' the elleth said. 'But he insisted on coming to meet you first…'

'What about the hobbits?' Gimli asked, shaking off his surprise. 'Did you find them?'

'No' Legolas replied. 'We were told however, that we need not to worry about them' he added, his gaze shifting towards Gandalf.

Aragorn sighed and carded his hand through his hair, slowly lowering himself back to the log he was previously sitting on.

'We are listening then' he sighed. He still seemed deeply exhausted and Lithien wasn't really surprised by that. She doubted that he had slept much since they went into the woods, regardless of what they have told him before.

'I have been falling for a long time' Gandalf started, moving towards the fire, where he sat down. 'And the Barlog was beside me. Still fighting. Still burning. I could feel his fire on my skin, but I could not stop fighting' he was staring into the small, dancing flames of their campfire, but it was obvious he was seeing something else entirely. 'I don't know how long we have been falling, but the chasm opens all the way to the roots of the mountains. There we hit the water – a lake so dark and so cold that it felt like the touch of death itself. The fires of the Barlog went out then, but it did not die. It was still strong and deadly, and for a moment I thought, that I will break beneath the strength of its arms.'

Lithien heard the tale of the Barlog once before and was reminded why she did not want to hear it ever again.

Even if Glorfindel was much more graphic in the retelling of his own plight.

The elleth instinctively shuddered.

'Eventually, I managed to free myself and injure the Barlog, causing it to flee. I gave chase, through the dark bowels of the mountain. Corridors no one knows of, except of the ancient, nameless things gnawing at the earth there. We finally came to the bottom of the Endless Stairs' the wizard glanced away from the fire briefly, when Gimli drew in a startled breath. 'The Balrog Slithered upward and I chased it again. We battled as he tried to threw me down the stairs. It lasted until we climbed all the way to the Durin's Tower and the Barlog had nowhere to run from there. Then we engaged in the last, desperate fight.'

The wizard fell silent for a moment.

Lithien glanced to her companions and the grim awe painting their features. A thought occurred to her, one that she had readily agreed with, that she had acted too rash at their first meeting. She was speaking form the place of a hurt confusion true, but fighting a Barlog was a feat neither of them could have attempted, much less hope to win.

Legolas was right. He did save them all that day.

'At long last' Gandalf' broke the silence once more. 'I had managed to strike the Barlog down and push it off the side of the mountain. But it was done at a great cost; darkness took me and I knew no more…' his voice hovered for a few seconds as he pondered his next words. 'But it was not the end. My task is not done and thus I was sent back. I woke up still on the mountainside, cold and shivering beneath the starlit sky. There I was found by Gwaihir and brought to Loth Lόrien for a short rest. There I spoke with your brother' his eyes flitted to Lithien briefly, 'and when I found out what I could, I came here to meet you. Thought I admit, I could have gone about it a little differently.'

Lithien's lips turned up into a wry smile.

'Why us?' Aragorn asked, before she could open her mouth. 'Why us and not Frodo and Sam, who went alone into Mordor? They need your help much more than the three of us.'

Gandalf smiled at that. It was a genuine, hopeful kind of smile that neither of them expected to see right now.

'I can no longer assist Frodo with his quest. Neither of us can. But the fact that Sam is with him does give me some hope. We have a different task now Aragorn. The war is about to break. Sauron may not be able to assume a physical form, but his spirit is powerful and restless. The time when he releases his armies upon the free people of Middle-Earth in coming. But while he is biding his time, another enemy is already on the move. And if we want to hold the hope of winning this war, we need to eliminate him first.'

'And how do you propose to do this?' Legolas asked. 'Saruman has been on the move for a while. We have met a group of Rohirrim lead by Eόmer, their Third Marshall. According to his words their king is ailing and presents no challenge to the power that Isengard wields.'

'Not to mention, that he craves the Ring' Lithien added. 'It is by a rather witless mistake, that he does not have it yet. He sent his orcs to track us down. They came upon us in the forest, before they were to cross the lake near the Falls of Rauros. We fought them, but there were too many. The attack has stopped however after they slain Boromir and took Merry and Pippin captive.'

There was a flicker of sadness in Gandalf's eyes. Lithien realized he did not know about the death of Boromir yet.

'I assumed Merry and Pippin drew the orcs attention' Aragorn picked up. 'And allowed Frodo to slip away unnoticed…'

'They must have! They did the same thing for me, when I was in a pinch' Lithien supplied. 'The orcs went after them without hesitation and I could fight through my escape from the rest of them. I am still not sure if I am impressed or horrified by their reckless bravery that day.'

'Given that you went and attempted to do the exact same thing, I can't see why you should be appalled by their deed' Legolas said, sounding vaguely amused.

'Hopefully, we will be able to soon explain to them thoroughly, that they should not do that ever again' Gimli said, stretching his legs towards the fire.

'We are not going to follow Merry and Pippin anymore' Gandalf said. 'Those two are on their own path now and as I already mentioned to the two of you' he glanced at the elves. 'They are not in danger any longer. Our path leads to Edoras right now; to aid king Theoden in his struggle against Saruman.'

'So we have failed them in the end?' Gimli asked. 'We have spent so much time and effort pursuing the orcs and we won't even have a chance to see our friends?'

'I did not say so' the wizard said. 'I am almost certain that you will see each other again, if not right away. Merry and Pippin has their own task right now. A great power lays dormant in the Forest of Farngorn. Ents are waiting for an impulse to remind themselves of their own power. Our young hobbits may be just that.'

Gimli darted a suspicious glare at the trees hovering above them.

'And then what?'

As if to answer him, the branches bent and creaked loudly, though there was almost no wind.

'And then we hopefully won't be nowhere near to bear the brunt of it' Gandalf finished and rested his palms on his knees. 'The sun has almost set; we are not going to depart anywhere tonight. We will stay here for one more night. I can see that you are all exhausted from your pursuit. Tonight you will sleep soundly. We will leave with the first light.'

There were still so many things they did not know. But they could wait for one more night, Lithien decided, as she stood up to stretch her shoulders, trying to banish the ache that settled deep into her muscles. No threat hung upon them for the time being and they were not rushing to save their friends.

Maybe Gandalf was leading them towards the war. She decided not to care. At least not tonight.