The second and final week in Fangorn was a happier time for Nori.  She was at first afraid that Legolas would blame her for keeping her secret, but quickly realized her fear was unfounded.  He was as much her friend as he had ever been, and the new understanding between them helped Nori relax and fully enjoy all the forest had to offer.

The time passed quickly, and all to soon it was their last night in Wellinghall.  They sat up with Treebeard late into the night, trying to keep the dawn at bay with ent-draughts and conversation.  Nori, Legolas, and Glamren had all been eager to reach Mirkwood, but now found themselves wishing for a little more time among the Ents.

When she finally went to bed, Nori lay for awhile thinking over all that had happened the past two weeks.  The last sounds she heard as she fell asleep were the voices of the two Elves, joined in a song of farewell to the forest.



As the sun rose the next morning, Legolas, Norusell, and Glamren began their departure from Fangorn Forest.  All of them were sad to say good-bye to the place and its inhabitants, but Treebeard saw them off cheerfully.

"Travel well, my friends.  I hope you will come this way again soon, and bring more Elves for me to talk with," he said, smiling.

The three travelers rode northeast at a slow pace, speaking very little.  After two days they left the forest and turned north.  Passing between the Misty Mountains and the Golden Wood of Lothlorien, they again turned north-east until they met the River Anduin, which would lead them north to the Gate of Mirkwood.



Ten days had passed since leaving Fangorn, and they had finally reached the Gate of Mirkwood.  Riding up the River Anduin, for many days the forest had been within sight, a large green haze to the east.  At night, even in the light of the full moon, it was a great blackness like a hole in the world.  Before falling asleep, Nori often thought that blackness made the many stories of evil in Mirkwood easy to believe, and the night before reaching the Gate had been a restless one for her.  Sleep had been chased away by horrible nightmares, full of huge cobwebs and stingers dripping with poison.  But even these dreams did not lessen her excitement, for she was finally fulfilling a wish that had been with her since her father first told her about Elves.

"I am going to see the Elves of Mirkwood," she thought, and with a shiver lead the way through the Gate.