Chapter Eleven: On the Road Again or The Road Goes Ever On
"So Fearless Leader, what are we going to do now?" Katie asked Aragorn.
"Well let me tell ya...."
Arwen nudged Aragorn in the ribs. The mighty King winced. "I wasn't being perverted! I swear! I was going to say that we should stay here until we pinpoint Torak's location."
"Don't worry Arwen, though I flirt incessantly with your husband I really like someone else," Katie said, always the blunt one. "I'm not going to take him or anything. Pippin's more of my fancy."
At this Pippin, Aragorn, and Arwen, all blushed furiously.
"I guess we don't really know what we're doing," said Beth, changing the subject.
"Well naturally Torak would center himself in Mordor, wouldn't he?" Kayla asked.
"Logically he would," said Merry, "But we need something stronger than logic before we travel all that way for nothing, wouldn't you say? We need proof of some sort."
"Yeah, that'd be nice."
There was an awkward silence. Then Aragorn spoke up. "There is someone who may know."
"Really now?" asked Katie.
"Her name is Megan, and she is my consultant in the ways of magic," said the king. "She might be able to find his mind with her magic, and then we can go from there."
"That would work," said Sam.
So they journeyed to the upper chambers of Aragorn's palace, to find a person who really did not resemble a magic user at all. She was tall and curly headed, and looked like a person who would be more practical that a person that would work in the supernatural.
"What do you need, Aragorn?" she asked. The fellowship was slightly taken aback - a consultant of Aragorn's would call him 'your Majesty,' wouldn't they?
But Aragorn was a revolutionary king and did not set much in ceremony, so the matter was soon dismissed in Katie's mind.
"We need you to find - "
"Torak," she finished. "Mordor."
"How do you know so quickly?"
She handed Aragorn a piece of parchment. "I'm in Mordor. Come get me. There will the true battle of destiny be fought," he read aloud. "This could obviously be a trap."
"It could," said Megan. "But it's not - Torak wants this 'battle of destiny' to happen, because certain prophecies make it seem that he will be the victor."
"Makes sense," Katie said. "Can we go now?"
"Yeah, you in such a hurry?"
"Yes, I'm a dryad, I like being outside."
Aragorn shrugged. "Well," he said, "I guess we'll be going to Mordor now."
"I feel like we're on a wild goose chase," muttered Sam.
"Hush Sam. Be good," said Rosie.
Katie giggled at the level of control Rosie had over Sam.
They left Gondor with minimal difficulty, excepting having to set a few fill-in's in place to cover Aragorn and Arwen's positions while they were gone.
"On the road again, I can't wait to get on the road again," Merry sang.
"Excuse me, if we're singing a song about a road, it should be 'the road goes ever on and on,'" said Pippin. "After all....it's a bit more related to this time frame."
"Shut up Pip."
Pip giggled and went over to talk to Katie instead of annoying Merry.
Frodo and Kayla were talking quietly (a first) slightly behind the rest of the group.
"What was it like, coming back from the Grey Havens?" she asked. "I thought you weren't supposed to be able to leave."
"You aren't supposed to be," he said. "If it weren't for Gandalf I'd still be there. But he helped me leave. I missed everyone too much. Sam, Pip, and Merry....it wasn't the same without them. It was quiet, and I needed some peace and quiet, but I couldn't take that much."
There was a small silence.
"Your journey....it really was difficult, I mean, you guys are legends....I've heard the stories, it's hard to imagine you went through all of it."
"I can hardly believe it myself sometimes," he admitted. "In the end though, I felt the hardest pressures lied on Smeagol. I mean, I carried it, but he lived with the guilt of killing Deagol, the guilt of what he was trying to do, and then he suffered the most in the end. I guess he did get the ring in the end - not that it did him any good."
"He died happily, or so I heard," Kay said.
"Yes, he was laughing even as he fell in Mount Doom," Frodo said. "It was the scariest thing."
"Glad it's over?" Kay asked.
"Yes, but I'm glad to be out adventuring again, of a less important sort," he said.
"Well I'm glad we got you too come along," Kay said.
"Yeah," said Frodo, "Me too."
"So Fearless Leader, what are we going to do now?" Katie asked Aragorn.
"Well let me tell ya...."
Arwen nudged Aragorn in the ribs. The mighty King winced. "I wasn't being perverted! I swear! I was going to say that we should stay here until we pinpoint Torak's location."
"Don't worry Arwen, though I flirt incessantly with your husband I really like someone else," Katie said, always the blunt one. "I'm not going to take him or anything. Pippin's more of my fancy."
At this Pippin, Aragorn, and Arwen, all blushed furiously.
"I guess we don't really know what we're doing," said Beth, changing the subject.
"Well naturally Torak would center himself in Mordor, wouldn't he?" Kayla asked.
"Logically he would," said Merry, "But we need something stronger than logic before we travel all that way for nothing, wouldn't you say? We need proof of some sort."
"Yeah, that'd be nice."
There was an awkward silence. Then Aragorn spoke up. "There is someone who may know."
"Really now?" asked Katie.
"Her name is Megan, and she is my consultant in the ways of magic," said the king. "She might be able to find his mind with her magic, and then we can go from there."
"That would work," said Sam.
So they journeyed to the upper chambers of Aragorn's palace, to find a person who really did not resemble a magic user at all. She was tall and curly headed, and looked like a person who would be more practical that a person that would work in the supernatural.
"What do you need, Aragorn?" she asked. The fellowship was slightly taken aback - a consultant of Aragorn's would call him 'your Majesty,' wouldn't they?
But Aragorn was a revolutionary king and did not set much in ceremony, so the matter was soon dismissed in Katie's mind.
"We need you to find - "
"Torak," she finished. "Mordor."
"How do you know so quickly?"
She handed Aragorn a piece of parchment. "I'm in Mordor. Come get me. There will the true battle of destiny be fought," he read aloud. "This could obviously be a trap."
"It could," said Megan. "But it's not - Torak wants this 'battle of destiny' to happen, because certain prophecies make it seem that he will be the victor."
"Makes sense," Katie said. "Can we go now?"
"Yeah, you in such a hurry?"
"Yes, I'm a dryad, I like being outside."
Aragorn shrugged. "Well," he said, "I guess we'll be going to Mordor now."
"I feel like we're on a wild goose chase," muttered Sam.
"Hush Sam. Be good," said Rosie.
Katie giggled at the level of control Rosie had over Sam.
They left Gondor with minimal difficulty, excepting having to set a few fill-in's in place to cover Aragorn and Arwen's positions while they were gone.
"On the road again, I can't wait to get on the road again," Merry sang.
"Excuse me, if we're singing a song about a road, it should be 'the road goes ever on and on,'" said Pippin. "After all....it's a bit more related to this time frame."
"Shut up Pip."
Pip giggled and went over to talk to Katie instead of annoying Merry.
Frodo and Kayla were talking quietly (a first) slightly behind the rest of the group.
"What was it like, coming back from the Grey Havens?" she asked. "I thought you weren't supposed to be able to leave."
"You aren't supposed to be," he said. "If it weren't for Gandalf I'd still be there. But he helped me leave. I missed everyone too much. Sam, Pip, and Merry....it wasn't the same without them. It was quiet, and I needed some peace and quiet, but I couldn't take that much."
There was a small silence.
"Your journey....it really was difficult, I mean, you guys are legends....I've heard the stories, it's hard to imagine you went through all of it."
"I can hardly believe it myself sometimes," he admitted. "In the end though, I felt the hardest pressures lied on Smeagol. I mean, I carried it, but he lived with the guilt of killing Deagol, the guilt of what he was trying to do, and then he suffered the most in the end. I guess he did get the ring in the end - not that it did him any good."
"He died happily, or so I heard," Kay said.
"Yes, he was laughing even as he fell in Mount Doom," Frodo said. "It was the scariest thing."
"Glad it's over?" Kay asked.
"Yes, but I'm glad to be out adventuring again, of a less important sort," he said.
"Well I'm glad we got you too come along," Kay said.
"Yeah," said Frodo, "Me too."