Disclaimer: Tolkien owns LOTR and all things Middle Earth, blah blah blah…
Chapter 21 – Formulating A Plan
As the weeks rolled by, Alania found herself growing more and more antsy. Unable to tolerate the same schedule of training, then more training, then reading or spending time with Gandalf, then dinner and bed, Alania grew downcast with each passing day. She worried about Legolas, though the few reports they received were mysteriously good. It seemed the rumors of a huge orc army had been wrong.
Alania found herself thinking quite a bit about home. She missed her house, her work, dancing to loud music, her friends, her annoying clients, movies and pizza. She wondered if she would ever be able to go home. It wouldn't be prudent to leave Middle Earth until what Alania liked to call The Malficent Problem was taken care of. So more and more her thoughts began to sway towards getting rid of the problem.
One afternoon, as Alania and Gandalf were walking, Gandalf decided to pick her brains. Partly to pull her out of her depression, but mostly because he was genuinely curious to see what she thought. "Alania, what do you think of the news we've been receiving from Mirkwood?" he asked.
"Well, I imagine it's good to know that the initial reports of the size of the orc army were wrong. It can only make their mission easier" she replied.
"Yes, but that is what concerns me. We had understood that Mirkwood was in immediate danger of serious attack. That is why so much time was spent with council before Legolas and Elrohir left. It seems to good to be true. Do I make myself clear to you?" he asked as he gave her a meaningful look. He was hinting at something he did not want to say outright.
"Generally I've found that if something is too good to be true then that is the case. Are you suggesting that the reports were… incorrect?"
"Let us not say incorrect. Let us say misleading. I believe there may be a larger issue here."
They walked some time in silence when Alania said "Gandalf, I have been thinking a lot about Malficent lately. Do you think it is possible that he has purposefully sent an army to raid Mirkwood because it is Legolas's home? We know Malficent knew that you had charged him with guarding your manuscripts, and that there was no way he could get to Legolas while he was staying here in Rivendell. Do you think the army was to lure Legolas out of Rivendell?"
"It had occurred to me that it might be the truth" replied Gandalf. "Malficent is determined to get his hands on them. He knows that with the magic they hold he could easily rule over Middle Earth. My protection of them are the only thing standing in his way. If he believes that I've charged someone else with their protection there is nothing he would not do to bring that person down to get his hands on the manuscripts."
"But Gandalf! The manuscripts did not go with Legolas. They are still here. Are you telling me that Malficent essentially set a trap for Legolas because he thinks Legolas still has them?!"
Gandalf nodded. Alania was speechless as the information sunk in. As new fear and worry crept up Alania's spine, she forced the feelings down because they wouldn't do Legolas any good right now.
"Well, what are we going to do?" she asked.
"I am not sure. The manuscripts must be kept safe. I had hoped that by sending them out of Middle Earth they would be out of Malficent's reach, but I see I had underestimated how much power he has. He is bent on getting them" replied Gandalf.
"Gandalf, if he is so taken with the manuscripts and they are the key to his ruling the lands why not just destroy them?"
Gandalf smiled and laughed lightly. "Alania, if only it were so simple. They contain the wisdom of all the wizards from the beginning of time. I have an excellent memory, but even I am not capable of remembering everything in their writings. Because of how secret they were only one copy was able to be made. It would take years to make another just to be able to destroy the original to fluster Malficent. I think we are in need of a quicker solution for Legolas right now."
"Um, Gandalf? What if it wasn't the only copy?"
Stopping in his track, he turned to face Alania and asked "What are you saying? There is no way for there to be other copies, as I gave the only one to Legolas to protect and he returned it to me when he came home."
"True, but Legolas did give the copy to me for a little while. I have no idea what possessed me at the time, maybe a little premonition, but if you need it I have two copies ready for you and can have a thousand more if you asked. My copies don't look anything like yours, as yours is on parchment paper, but it contains all the writings. I guess you could say I did a little magic of my own."
Gandalf stared at Alania as though she had fallen from the sky. Had anyone else been there they would have congratulated on being able to render the wizard shocked. Concerned at his look of incredulity, Alania asked "I didn't do anything wrong, did I? It seemed like a good idea. In my world no important document goes un-copied. We make something called back-ups of everything. I mean, god help you if you lose something during tax season or if you get a computer virus."
Alania was startled when Gandalf grabbed her and kissed her hard on the forehead. Then he took her hand and practically dragged her for a talk with Celeborn and Elladan.
An hour later she found herself sitting with the council as they discussed this turn of events. Shaking her head as she listened to them all debate, she finally understood why Legolas had spent so much time here. They had the ability to get nowhere fast and get onto tangents while they were at it. She had heard enough of their arguing back and forth. She decided to heck with decorum and said "You can't just destroy them. How in the world would Malficent get news of it? And even if he did, who's to say that he'd believe it? I'm sorry, but you're going to have to somehow destroy them in front of him."
The elves fell silent at her comments. It was the first time she had given her thoughts to them rather than just information. Gandalf was pleased and smiled to himself. He had been waiting for her to take the initiative.
Celeborn finally said with a smile "Well lady, it seems that perhaps Legolas should not have kept you from these meetings. I agree that Malficent would see a claim of their destruction as a ruse. There must be a better solution and we need to discover it as soon as we can. For now I will do my best to make sure that it is no secret that Legolas does not carry the manuscripts with him to battle. Perhaps that can prevent anything untoward planned for him or Elrohir. Malficent would only see their capture as a victory for himself."
Elladan nodded and said "We will send out messengers and spies to infiltrate and carry this news immediately. Now we must try to find a way to catch Malficent's attention enough to bring him to us so that he will know of the manuscripts' destruction."
It took them all several days to come up with a plan. Alania insisted on Georn and Roxy's presence at the all the other meetings and soon, with everyone's help, they were ready. Alania had proposed that it be known that Gandalf wanted the manuscripts to travel west with several elves who would choose to depart Middle Earth. They would confer with Aerdin, Aragorn's grandson and current king of Gondor, prior to leaving to ensure that they would be able to get as close to Malficent as possible under this deception. Gandalf believed he would welcome them and help them as Malficent was the source of all their problems too. In Gondor they would hide until Malficent himself sought them out, and then they would figure out a way to destroy the manuscripts. All agreed to this plan, and hoped that it would not come to the actual destruction of the manuscripts.
Several weeks later, Alania fought with Georn about her traveling to Gondor. They argued for many days until finally it was Gandalf who settled the matter, though not without argument from the shape-shifter. "Georn, I am giving Alania the responsibility of these manuscripts. It was her foresight that has given us a new hope, and it is to her that they will be entrusted" he said.
"Gandalf I understand your point of view, but she is not of Middle Earth and Legolas will kill me himself if anything happens to her" replied Georn.
"Well if that is how you see it, I suggest you go with her and make sure she stays safe on your journey to the White City" answered Gandalf with a smile. And that was the last word on the topic.
And so the group that left Rivendell consisted of Teleris, Alania, Georn, Roxy and Elladan. The elves would claim to be heading west to passersby, and Celeborn was placed as head of Rivendell until either brother returned.
As they traveled southwest, Alania noted the beauty and solitude of Middle Earth. Roxy found it all intriguing and couldn't get enough of the landscape and peoples. Alania found it pretty and repetitive. In her mind, Middle Earth was a nice place to visit but she definitely didn't want to live there. While the journey gave Alania a purpose and a distraction from worrying about Legolas, she found it compounded her desire to get back home. The homesickness was assuaged when the White City came into view, and for a little while she didn't think of home, though Legolas was never far from her thoughts.
*****
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Chapter 21 – Formulating A Plan
As the weeks rolled by, Alania found herself growing more and more antsy. Unable to tolerate the same schedule of training, then more training, then reading or spending time with Gandalf, then dinner and bed, Alania grew downcast with each passing day. She worried about Legolas, though the few reports they received were mysteriously good. It seemed the rumors of a huge orc army had been wrong.
Alania found herself thinking quite a bit about home. She missed her house, her work, dancing to loud music, her friends, her annoying clients, movies and pizza. She wondered if she would ever be able to go home. It wouldn't be prudent to leave Middle Earth until what Alania liked to call The Malficent Problem was taken care of. So more and more her thoughts began to sway towards getting rid of the problem.
One afternoon, as Alania and Gandalf were walking, Gandalf decided to pick her brains. Partly to pull her out of her depression, but mostly because he was genuinely curious to see what she thought. "Alania, what do you think of the news we've been receiving from Mirkwood?" he asked.
"Well, I imagine it's good to know that the initial reports of the size of the orc army were wrong. It can only make their mission easier" she replied.
"Yes, but that is what concerns me. We had understood that Mirkwood was in immediate danger of serious attack. That is why so much time was spent with council before Legolas and Elrohir left. It seems to good to be true. Do I make myself clear to you?" he asked as he gave her a meaningful look. He was hinting at something he did not want to say outright.
"Generally I've found that if something is too good to be true then that is the case. Are you suggesting that the reports were… incorrect?"
"Let us not say incorrect. Let us say misleading. I believe there may be a larger issue here."
They walked some time in silence when Alania said "Gandalf, I have been thinking a lot about Malficent lately. Do you think it is possible that he has purposefully sent an army to raid Mirkwood because it is Legolas's home? We know Malficent knew that you had charged him with guarding your manuscripts, and that there was no way he could get to Legolas while he was staying here in Rivendell. Do you think the army was to lure Legolas out of Rivendell?"
"It had occurred to me that it might be the truth" replied Gandalf. "Malficent is determined to get his hands on them. He knows that with the magic they hold he could easily rule over Middle Earth. My protection of them are the only thing standing in his way. If he believes that I've charged someone else with their protection there is nothing he would not do to bring that person down to get his hands on the manuscripts."
"But Gandalf! The manuscripts did not go with Legolas. They are still here. Are you telling me that Malficent essentially set a trap for Legolas because he thinks Legolas still has them?!"
Gandalf nodded. Alania was speechless as the information sunk in. As new fear and worry crept up Alania's spine, she forced the feelings down because they wouldn't do Legolas any good right now.
"Well, what are we going to do?" she asked.
"I am not sure. The manuscripts must be kept safe. I had hoped that by sending them out of Middle Earth they would be out of Malficent's reach, but I see I had underestimated how much power he has. He is bent on getting them" replied Gandalf.
"Gandalf, if he is so taken with the manuscripts and they are the key to his ruling the lands why not just destroy them?"
Gandalf smiled and laughed lightly. "Alania, if only it were so simple. They contain the wisdom of all the wizards from the beginning of time. I have an excellent memory, but even I am not capable of remembering everything in their writings. Because of how secret they were only one copy was able to be made. It would take years to make another just to be able to destroy the original to fluster Malficent. I think we are in need of a quicker solution for Legolas right now."
"Um, Gandalf? What if it wasn't the only copy?"
Stopping in his track, he turned to face Alania and asked "What are you saying? There is no way for there to be other copies, as I gave the only one to Legolas to protect and he returned it to me when he came home."
"True, but Legolas did give the copy to me for a little while. I have no idea what possessed me at the time, maybe a little premonition, but if you need it I have two copies ready for you and can have a thousand more if you asked. My copies don't look anything like yours, as yours is on parchment paper, but it contains all the writings. I guess you could say I did a little magic of my own."
Gandalf stared at Alania as though she had fallen from the sky. Had anyone else been there they would have congratulated on being able to render the wizard shocked. Concerned at his look of incredulity, Alania asked "I didn't do anything wrong, did I? It seemed like a good idea. In my world no important document goes un-copied. We make something called back-ups of everything. I mean, god help you if you lose something during tax season or if you get a computer virus."
Alania was startled when Gandalf grabbed her and kissed her hard on the forehead. Then he took her hand and practically dragged her for a talk with Celeborn and Elladan.
An hour later she found herself sitting with the council as they discussed this turn of events. Shaking her head as she listened to them all debate, she finally understood why Legolas had spent so much time here. They had the ability to get nowhere fast and get onto tangents while they were at it. She had heard enough of their arguing back and forth. She decided to heck with decorum and said "You can't just destroy them. How in the world would Malficent get news of it? And even if he did, who's to say that he'd believe it? I'm sorry, but you're going to have to somehow destroy them in front of him."
The elves fell silent at her comments. It was the first time she had given her thoughts to them rather than just information. Gandalf was pleased and smiled to himself. He had been waiting for her to take the initiative.
Celeborn finally said with a smile "Well lady, it seems that perhaps Legolas should not have kept you from these meetings. I agree that Malficent would see a claim of their destruction as a ruse. There must be a better solution and we need to discover it as soon as we can. For now I will do my best to make sure that it is no secret that Legolas does not carry the manuscripts with him to battle. Perhaps that can prevent anything untoward planned for him or Elrohir. Malficent would only see their capture as a victory for himself."
Elladan nodded and said "We will send out messengers and spies to infiltrate and carry this news immediately. Now we must try to find a way to catch Malficent's attention enough to bring him to us so that he will know of the manuscripts' destruction."
It took them all several days to come up with a plan. Alania insisted on Georn and Roxy's presence at the all the other meetings and soon, with everyone's help, they were ready. Alania had proposed that it be known that Gandalf wanted the manuscripts to travel west with several elves who would choose to depart Middle Earth. They would confer with Aerdin, Aragorn's grandson and current king of Gondor, prior to leaving to ensure that they would be able to get as close to Malficent as possible under this deception. Gandalf believed he would welcome them and help them as Malficent was the source of all their problems too. In Gondor they would hide until Malficent himself sought them out, and then they would figure out a way to destroy the manuscripts. All agreed to this plan, and hoped that it would not come to the actual destruction of the manuscripts.
Several weeks later, Alania fought with Georn about her traveling to Gondor. They argued for many days until finally it was Gandalf who settled the matter, though not without argument from the shape-shifter. "Georn, I am giving Alania the responsibility of these manuscripts. It was her foresight that has given us a new hope, and it is to her that they will be entrusted" he said.
"Gandalf I understand your point of view, but she is not of Middle Earth and Legolas will kill me himself if anything happens to her" replied Georn.
"Well if that is how you see it, I suggest you go with her and make sure she stays safe on your journey to the White City" answered Gandalf with a smile. And that was the last word on the topic.
And so the group that left Rivendell consisted of Teleris, Alania, Georn, Roxy and Elladan. The elves would claim to be heading west to passersby, and Celeborn was placed as head of Rivendell until either brother returned.
As they traveled southwest, Alania noted the beauty and solitude of Middle Earth. Roxy found it all intriguing and couldn't get enough of the landscape and peoples. Alania found it pretty and repetitive. In her mind, Middle Earth was a nice place to visit but she definitely didn't want to live there. While the journey gave Alania a purpose and a distraction from worrying about Legolas, she found it compounded her desire to get back home. The homesickness was assuaged when the White City came into view, and for a little while she didn't think of home, though Legolas was never far from her thoughts.
*****
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