yes yes ok. I ADMIT I got it wrong. Well spotted to all those who saw the mistakes with the saddles. How ironic. I don't know the first thing about horses or riding. In my defence for my mistakes may I point out that I do all my own spelling, grammar and punctuation checks and hey - I'm not perfect! Also I tend to write a chapter a day which can be pretty challenging sometimes to say the least. And finally - I usually write this story in the early hours of the morning when my brain is fried and my sense of humour is more twisted than it is in the daytime, so mistakes are VERY easily made. There ranted enough! And this isn't directed at you sprite - it's to the individual on one of my yahoo groups who NEVER reviews. Until now. When I made some mistakes. Which kinda wound me up for obvious reasons - i.e. she reads but doesn't give me any feedback. Yet more irony - I was considering not posting it up on that group because I wasn't getting any feedback! So if you are reading this - review it dammit! Or I may just go and spend my time doing something far more productive like sleeping!

In Too Deep.

I stayed sitting and eating for a while. And just as I was debating whether to make another attempt at finding the Palace when my horse decided that enough was enough and left me.

"What the?! Where the fuck are you going?" I shouted as my horse and Thingaladion's horse disappeared. Thingaladion was still unconscious on the back of his horse. And he would soon be a lot worse off, I noted as his head smacked into yet another branch.

***

"Balls." I muttered as I tried yet another direction in hope of finding the Palace. Last time I had ended up in what appeared to be a clearing. It wasn't. More like a bog. And yes, I got very very wet. I was not best pleased.

"Whoever knew Mirkwood was such a bloody big place?" I said aloud. "It looks so tiny on the maps." I glanced down to the book I held in my hand. "Of course, the whole of Middle Earth also looks tiny shoved into the back of a paperback book." I noted sourly, "Obviously Mirkwood in just being kept in proportion. Dammit."

***

It was quite some time later on when I noticed that my nose had started to run. A few miles further on and I sneezed.

"Oh darn. Now to add to all my troubles I've gone and caught a cold. ARGH!" I shouted in frustration and kicked the nearest inanimate object. Which happened to be a rock. And I kicked it with my still not quite healed bad ankle foot.

"Fuck! Fuck! Shit! Ouch! OWWWW!" I hopped around sniffing and holding my now bad ankle and bad foot. Tears began to roll down my cheeks. Before I succumbed to the gravity that was pulling my very off balance self towards the floor I decided the best thing to do would be to sit down and inspect the damage.

"Oh lovely and purple-ly black." I said aloud as I saw the distinctly un- fetching bruise that was swiftly forming on my foot. "Now how the hell am I supposed to walk?" I groaned as I put my foot on the floor to test it's strength.

Then I heard something that sounded suspiciously like voices.

"The spell we have cast is beginning to wear off. He will be discovered soon." Said a voice.

"Does he himself know what he really is?" Another voice asked.

The first speaker snorted before continuing. "Of course not. The knowledge that he is in fact a man not an elf would destroy our plan. Once the elves discover what he truly is..."

"Then we put our plans into action." The second voice finished.

"But what of the dwarves?" Interjected another.

"Do not fear. I have plans for them too. Plans for everyone. Oh yes." Said the first in almost a whisper.

I attempted to move closer. Was Thingaladion's murderous actions not truly his own fault? What then and more importantly who was behind them? The first voice implied it was a spell on him to disguise his true nature. I silently shuffled forward, determined to get to the bottom of this once and for all. And then it happened. Possibly the worst thing I could do whilst eavesdropping on the plotters that were behind the attempt on Veborion's life.

I sneezed.

Idiot.

************************

Oh dear oh dear! Who are the plotters? What will they do to me? And will I ever find out just what the heck is going on? And did I make a chapter without any mistakes? And if I did - new excuse! I have a cold and am feeling pretty rough. R&R please!