Whew! Sorry about the LLOONNGG wait, the gift giving ceremony fought me tooth and nail! That and my own anxiety! Regardless, however, NEW CHAPTER!
Legolas wouldn't admit it to anyone but, perhaps, Aragorn; but this 'Mage' Ulliadia Emberfell was really getting on his very last nerve. She constantly seemed to come to him, or if absolutely necessary, and even then only grudgingly, Aragorn; to receive answers about the quest, their mutual companions, and the nature of any threats they might face. Now, normally, this wouldn't have been too irritating; but it was manner in which she spoke that aggravated him endlessly!
Legolas knew, from grudgingly acknowledged experience, that many Elves could be a little snobbish, certainly the Dwarves blew this trait far out of proportion in their tales; but this 'Mage' seemed to endeavor to put even the most skewed Dwarven legends to shame!
She appeared to completely regard most Men as beneath her, seemed to absolutely loathe Dwarves, found Halflings tedious and irritating, and, most surprisingly, seemed to treat even any Elf, outside of what she called 'High Elves' (which Legolas could only take to mean the Noldor) as an inferior being!
Even Legolas, of whom she kept referring to as 'Asrai', rather derogatorily, he might add; being the Prince of Mirkwood, was treated like some sort of backwoods bumpkin! The attitude was even clearer when he had dared to ask her of this Elven land of 'Ulthuan', when she had shot him a dark look, with her eyes staring daggers into his very soul.
Truthfully, he didn't know how much longer he could tolerate this level of elitism…
Elseware… Aragorn, Bessimar, and Urban were in council with the Elf-lord Celeborn, who presented Aragorn with a map, and news of large Orcs patrolling the eastern shore of the Anduin, all bearing the mark of the White Hand. Other than that, most of the short, informal meeting was concerned with the company's baggage, the number of boats, and possible traveling routes.
To be truthful, all Aragorn wanted to do right now was sit in the shade of a Mallorn tree and smoke his pipe for several hours, as he had an immense headache. At any other time in his life he would never have even thought about gainsaying Lady Galadriel (or, for that matter, this God Sigmar's) wishes of providing them with two new companions. But now…Aragorn couldn't help but feel a twinge of doubt in the back of his mind. For their new Dwarf companion was insular and taciturn, and their new Elven compatriot was snobbish beyond belief, he could even tell Legolas and Gimli's patience with them wearing thin. Perhaps that's why Lady Galadriel had asked to speak with the Lady Emberfell alone before she said farewell to the company as a whole, for even Legolas would readily admit that she posed the greater problem of the two as far as personality clashes were concerned.
Again, elseware… Boromir was just finishing securing some of the companies provisions in one of the small boats graciously given to the company by the Galadhrim when he spotted the Elven Lady Emberfell walking away from the Elf Queen Galadriel back towards the companies departure point, the former wearing the most peculiar expression, one that he had truly never seen on an Elf before. She looked dazed, shocked, and somewhat as if she couldn't tell up from down at the moment. Truth be told, she looked rather drunk. But this was none of Boromir's business, so he turned about and went back to work securing the group's cargo.
Legolas… Legolas was retrieving some of the fine Elven rope to finish lashing down a package full of Elven Lembas, when he heard the slight sound of grass being compressed beneath an Elven foot, as Men and Dwarves feet were significantly louder and heavier.
Hoping that it was one of Lady Galadriel's guards, Legolas turned only to, regrettably, find Ulliadia facing him, her face rather uncomfortably uneasy and her hands clutching a coil of rope in such a manner that it was obvious that she was unused to manual labour.
"Here" she said rather shakily, holding out the rope for Legolas to take. While he, to be honest, was somewhat shocked to see her change in demeanor, grabbed the rope and gave a grateful, is somewhat hesitant, nod, which the Elven Mage shakily returned before hastening away.
The boats were now fully supplied and awaiting their passengers, but one more event must take place before the company again sets off.
The ceremony was short, if still rather moving. Each of the company was handed a well-spun Elvish cloak that would hide them from the eyes of the Enemy. Especially useful for Ulliadia, whose garb was almost exclusively white.
After receiving the cloaks, each companion was gifted with something more unique; for Frodo it was a glass vial, most likely magical; Aragorn received a hunting knife, Merry and Pippin were presented with Daggers, Samwise got a coil of fine rope, Boromir received a sword belt inlaid with designs indicative of Elven manufacture, Legolas was gifted with a longbow of exquisite make, and, much to the barely concealed disdain of Gottrisson, Gimli asked for, and received, three hairs of the Lady of the Wood.
For those not of this world, the gifts were just as unique… first to receive their gif was Urban, he stood up a little straighter as the attention shifted from the last gift-receiver (Gimli) to himself, for he was intimately familiar with how to behave with pomp and circumstance, he looked rather amazed when Galadriel handed him a large-ish symbol of Sigmar, he could instantly tell that this was of truly unsurpassed craftsmanship, it appeared to be solid silver with red-and-gold enamel to represent the twin-tailed-comet, and on the obverse side was written in beautifully executed Sindarian, with the same phrase (presumably) written in Reikspiel below, "In our darkest hour, look to the heavens, for they shalt guide the way" under most 'normal' circumstances Urban would have thought it disrespectful for another race to give a symbol of a god who wasn't theirs, but, as he reasoned, no one (as far as he knew) had taught Galadriel Reikspiel, so Sigmar himself had to be involved somehow… or so his thinking went.
Bessimar was next in line, and even though part of the training of a Witch Hunter was to never be surprised, this time he was… and for once it was a pleasant one!
As Galadriel reached out her hand Bessimar could plainly see that his gift was a small leather pouch, tooled in both (like Urban's gift) the Elvish script and his own; it said "In faith, conviction", he looked a slight bit perplexed, as he didn't really understand what it was. Galadriel saw this and said, smiling, "Your god Sigmar provided this relic for you to carry in these darkest of times"
Bessimar went wide-eyed, he reverently opened the pouch and found a small fragment of arm-bone, normally nothing, but the parchment wrapped around it and sealed with red wax clearly identified this as the left-forearm bone of Joseph Helstrum, the first Grand Theogonist! A relic that to any Witch Hunter would be priceless beyond compare!
He accepted it quietly and reverently strapped it to his baldric.
Gottrisson was next in line, and if any of those present would be hard to impress, it would certainly be him!
Once again, however, Galadriel proved insightful. She provided a small cloth-wrapped object, which Gottrisson unwrapped carefully. What he saw would have moved even High-King Grudgebearer's stony heart.
Gottrisson saw a small handaxe, the same one that had belonged to his great-grandfather, a renowned Runesmith, for the makers mark could be clearly seen, and whose loss to the Orcs thirty-years ago caused him to take the Slayer's Oath.
Galadriel simply smiled as the Dwarf as he ogled the item.
Finally, Ulliadia received her gift, unique as expected, but also with a message. "Lady Emberfell," Galadriel said, "we gift unto you this acorn." holding up a golden colored acorn, "it comes from the oldest Mallorn tree of Caras Galadhon, and holds the magic of our people."
Ulliadia reverently received the item, she had heard tales of the powers of Acorns from the Wood Elves 'Oak of Ages' in Athel Loren. Even though no High Elf had ever even seen one, however, was irrelevant, for even the greenest apprentice in Saphery could practically hear the small item thrumming with energy.
Ulliadia quietly tied the nut around her neck and gave the Lady of the Wood a grateful nod. Galadriel returned the gesture and said, "Remember our words and you shall not go astray."
At this point the company quickly made their way down to where their boats rested on the shores of the Anduin. The last sight before they rounded a bend in the river was that of Galadriel holding out her hand in farewell, then she was gone and their journey continued ahead.