NO MATTER WHAT
Disclaimer: as I'm sure you know, I, sadly, don't own any of the LOTR guys. I wish that I did though
As Aragorn wandered the forest, he thought about the task ahead of him. Rumors of another ring had spread far enough to reach the shire. The ring was different from the other in many ways. For starters, it was silver, it had a stone, there were no inscriptions on it, and you didn't turn invisible, something else happened.
When he arrived at Bag-end he was knocked over by three over-excited hobbits. Pippin was shivering, Merry had been crying, and Frodo seemed quite distressed. All of them motioned for him to come inside. Frodo's house had apparently been torn apart. There were papers laying all over the floor, his dresser was laying on its side, and it looked like a war zone.
"What happened here?" Aragorn couldn't hide his surprise; Frodo's house was normally immaculate when people were expected to come over. "Is this what has you so upset?"
"No" Merry almost squeaked. "This isn't it."
"You had better come with us, Strider." Frodo's voice seemed almost as if he was in a dream.
"We had better tell him what happened first." Pippin stopped Frodo from going out the door. "It would be best if he heard first, to get him ready for what is ahead."
Frodo agreed and started the long tale. "We don't know entirely what happened. What we do know is that Sam is gone. Merry and Pippin took me out to, well, take some of farmer Maggots crops, mushrooms to be more exact. We were getting them for Sam. In a day or two it will be Sam's anniversary with Rosie. We were going to make him a special dinner for the two of them. When we got back he was gone. We found orc tracks all over and a place that it looked like there was a struggle. We found Rosie less than a league away in some bushes. She was badly bruised and wasn't awake, but she was there and she was alive. We found her just hours before you arrived.
Before they knew what they had gotten themselves into, they were off to find the others. If there were orcs involved, there was a good chance that the stories of the ring were true. On the other hand, it could mean that orcs were just pissed off at the hobbits. Either way, Sam couldn't boast about being the only hobbit in the fellowship that was never captured by orcs.
"We should split up, that way we can find the others faster." Pippin was amazed at his insight.
"No, not with something hunting hobbits in the area. We don't want you to end up like Sam." When Aragorn finished speaking he was almost sure that he heard a cry of "speak for yourself" in the background noise of the wind.
"Then who should we get first? Legolas might be in his father's realm but he might still be with Gimli. If Gimli isn't with Legolas, where would he be? Most importantly, where should we look for Gandalf?" Frodo seemed to ask as many questions as Pippin normally did. The only difference was that he was asking more important questions.
"Don't worry any about Gandalf, I think that we will find him if we go along our own ways. He does seem to have a 6th sense about these kinds of things. That must be why he always shows up when trouble happens. I think that he just might show up on his own." Aragorn told them as he thought of what to do next. "I would say that our best bet would be to go to Mirkwood. Even if Legolas isn't there his father should have a good idea where to find him. Not only that but the Lonely Mountain isn't too far away. The dwarves there would know where Gimli is. They should anyway."
"Then that is the plan." Frodo announced as if there was any doubt.
They spend an hour packing everything that they would need. They assumed that they would all be making a journey not only to Mirkwood but also to The Lonely Mountain. Frodo packed a cooking kit that he had planned to give
Sam but hadn't chosen when. Pippin packed the things to make his favorite meal, snack, and other such necessaries. Merry also packed the same as Pip.
Once on the rode they traveled slowly then quickly. They couldn't seem to keep some sort of consistent pace. When it was Frodo's turn to stand watch they would move quickly the next day, same with Aragorn. On the other hand, if it was Merry's or Pippin's watch they would move slowly the next day. Because of that and a small rain shower they were delayed three days.
The welcome to the northern realm was one to be remembered. Some of the memories were good and others were not so good. One that was not so good was the arrival. They were greeted with bows held taunt with arrows that would fly fast and deadly. Once the elves realized that they meant no harm they allowed them to pass. The better memories were after that moment. The hobbits most memorable event was supper. The elves took hours making enough food for the three hungry hobbits and a meal fit for a king. It wasn't until after that that they met with the Legolas's father.
"I have heard a great deal about you three, and the other hobbit. I have also heard about the great king of Gondor." Legolas's father told them as they entered.
"I am afraid that I have not heard much of you though, other that that you are the king here and that you are Legolas's father." Aragorn said in much the same respect.
"I don't believe that hobbits travel much, the same cannot be said for rangers. Is that true?"
"Yes, that is interlay true." Pippin told the Eleven-king.
"Then why, may I ask, have the hobbits traveled here and where is there friend. I do believe that I was told that there were 4, not 3."
"We have come to find out where Legolas is, I greatly desire to speak with him. The matters are concerning only a few. The other hobbit was taken by orcs and I hope that Legolas may help us. Now may I ask where he is?"
"You may, but you will not get I defined answer. I don't know exactly where he is at the moment. I know where he is headed. Would you like to have that information, though I cannot tell you all of it?" the king's calm was steady yet swift, as though he wanted to say it and be done with the conversation.
"Any that you have would be of up-most importance to us." Aragorn, who was controlling most of the talk on the fellowship side, informed the king.
"He is headed to an inn. The name of it is Mori. He left a few days ago but is taking a long way. He has some, how should I put this, detours, that he must take. One thing is of great importance to him. I believe that he tried to contact you on the subject but all the messengers were attacked by orcs. I think that I will let him tell you of it. Now, Aragorn, I will show you the area that he will be going to. As for the hobbits, you may take your rooms now. If you wish, I can have ponies and horses ready in the morning to make your journey faster. I by no means wish for you to leave that early if you do not want to. I just assumed that you wanted to by how eager you were asking about it."
"Thank you, Thranduil." Merry thanked the king as he grabbed Pippin and Frodo and dashed off to the kitchen. There was no way that they were going to bed without more food. Frodo also wanted to get the cook's recipe for some of the food they had eaten during their stay.
"I thank you for your kindness to the hobbits and for the offer of the horses but we cannot accept. We will leave tonight if at all possible. I feel that it would be best to travel in the dark so that it would pervade some shield from whatever is in command of the orcs." Aragorn commented as he and the king walked to the room that housed the maps. "Some of the paths that I take may not be suitable for horses and the grass may be poor." Aragorn was tired and wished to stay but knew that this was not a matter to delay any further than they had already. "If I decide that horses would be good or need to return for any other reason, would you be here?"
"No, I am leaving in less time than you are. I do think that you should stay the night. You will beat my son there by a night even if you do. He would get there the same day but would want to rest the night. After I show you where the inn is I am going to depart. It may be a journey of days but it is made in joy. I may not say more on the matter at this moment." With that, Thranduil stopped the conversation. Aragorn tried to start it up again but Thranduil dismissed the idea by insisting that they must hurry.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!
Disclaimer: as I'm sure you know, I, sadly, don't own any of the LOTR guys. I wish that I did though
As Aragorn wandered the forest, he thought about the task ahead of him. Rumors of another ring had spread far enough to reach the shire. The ring was different from the other in many ways. For starters, it was silver, it had a stone, there were no inscriptions on it, and you didn't turn invisible, something else happened.
When he arrived at Bag-end he was knocked over by three over-excited hobbits. Pippin was shivering, Merry had been crying, and Frodo seemed quite distressed. All of them motioned for him to come inside. Frodo's house had apparently been torn apart. There were papers laying all over the floor, his dresser was laying on its side, and it looked like a war zone.
"What happened here?" Aragorn couldn't hide his surprise; Frodo's house was normally immaculate when people were expected to come over. "Is this what has you so upset?"
"No" Merry almost squeaked. "This isn't it."
"You had better come with us, Strider." Frodo's voice seemed almost as if he was in a dream.
"We had better tell him what happened first." Pippin stopped Frodo from going out the door. "It would be best if he heard first, to get him ready for what is ahead."
Frodo agreed and started the long tale. "We don't know entirely what happened. What we do know is that Sam is gone. Merry and Pippin took me out to, well, take some of farmer Maggots crops, mushrooms to be more exact. We were getting them for Sam. In a day or two it will be Sam's anniversary with Rosie. We were going to make him a special dinner for the two of them. When we got back he was gone. We found orc tracks all over and a place that it looked like there was a struggle. We found Rosie less than a league away in some bushes. She was badly bruised and wasn't awake, but she was there and she was alive. We found her just hours before you arrived.
Before they knew what they had gotten themselves into, they were off to find the others. If there were orcs involved, there was a good chance that the stories of the ring were true. On the other hand, it could mean that orcs were just pissed off at the hobbits. Either way, Sam couldn't boast about being the only hobbit in the fellowship that was never captured by orcs.
"We should split up, that way we can find the others faster." Pippin was amazed at his insight.
"No, not with something hunting hobbits in the area. We don't want you to end up like Sam." When Aragorn finished speaking he was almost sure that he heard a cry of "speak for yourself" in the background noise of the wind.
"Then who should we get first? Legolas might be in his father's realm but he might still be with Gimli. If Gimli isn't with Legolas, where would he be? Most importantly, where should we look for Gandalf?" Frodo seemed to ask as many questions as Pippin normally did. The only difference was that he was asking more important questions.
"Don't worry any about Gandalf, I think that we will find him if we go along our own ways. He does seem to have a 6th sense about these kinds of things. That must be why he always shows up when trouble happens. I think that he just might show up on his own." Aragorn told them as he thought of what to do next. "I would say that our best bet would be to go to Mirkwood. Even if Legolas isn't there his father should have a good idea where to find him. Not only that but the Lonely Mountain isn't too far away. The dwarves there would know where Gimli is. They should anyway."
"Then that is the plan." Frodo announced as if there was any doubt.
They spend an hour packing everything that they would need. They assumed that they would all be making a journey not only to Mirkwood but also to The Lonely Mountain. Frodo packed a cooking kit that he had planned to give
Sam but hadn't chosen when. Pippin packed the things to make his favorite meal, snack, and other such necessaries. Merry also packed the same as Pip.
Once on the rode they traveled slowly then quickly. They couldn't seem to keep some sort of consistent pace. When it was Frodo's turn to stand watch they would move quickly the next day, same with Aragorn. On the other hand, if it was Merry's or Pippin's watch they would move slowly the next day. Because of that and a small rain shower they were delayed three days.
The welcome to the northern realm was one to be remembered. Some of the memories were good and others were not so good. One that was not so good was the arrival. They were greeted with bows held taunt with arrows that would fly fast and deadly. Once the elves realized that they meant no harm they allowed them to pass. The better memories were after that moment. The hobbits most memorable event was supper. The elves took hours making enough food for the three hungry hobbits and a meal fit for a king. It wasn't until after that that they met with the Legolas's father.
"I have heard a great deal about you three, and the other hobbit. I have also heard about the great king of Gondor." Legolas's father told them as they entered.
"I am afraid that I have not heard much of you though, other that that you are the king here and that you are Legolas's father." Aragorn said in much the same respect.
"I don't believe that hobbits travel much, the same cannot be said for rangers. Is that true?"
"Yes, that is interlay true." Pippin told the Eleven-king.
"Then why, may I ask, have the hobbits traveled here and where is there friend. I do believe that I was told that there were 4, not 3."
"We have come to find out where Legolas is, I greatly desire to speak with him. The matters are concerning only a few. The other hobbit was taken by orcs and I hope that Legolas may help us. Now may I ask where he is?"
"You may, but you will not get I defined answer. I don't know exactly where he is at the moment. I know where he is headed. Would you like to have that information, though I cannot tell you all of it?" the king's calm was steady yet swift, as though he wanted to say it and be done with the conversation.
"Any that you have would be of up-most importance to us." Aragorn, who was controlling most of the talk on the fellowship side, informed the king.
"He is headed to an inn. The name of it is Mori. He left a few days ago but is taking a long way. He has some, how should I put this, detours, that he must take. One thing is of great importance to him. I believe that he tried to contact you on the subject but all the messengers were attacked by orcs. I think that I will let him tell you of it. Now, Aragorn, I will show you the area that he will be going to. As for the hobbits, you may take your rooms now. If you wish, I can have ponies and horses ready in the morning to make your journey faster. I by no means wish for you to leave that early if you do not want to. I just assumed that you wanted to by how eager you were asking about it."
"Thank you, Thranduil." Merry thanked the king as he grabbed Pippin and Frodo and dashed off to the kitchen. There was no way that they were going to bed without more food. Frodo also wanted to get the cook's recipe for some of the food they had eaten during their stay.
"I thank you for your kindness to the hobbits and for the offer of the horses but we cannot accept. We will leave tonight if at all possible. I feel that it would be best to travel in the dark so that it would pervade some shield from whatever is in command of the orcs." Aragorn commented as he and the king walked to the room that housed the maps. "Some of the paths that I take may not be suitable for horses and the grass may be poor." Aragorn was tired and wished to stay but knew that this was not a matter to delay any further than they had already. "If I decide that horses would be good or need to return for any other reason, would you be here?"
"No, I am leaving in less time than you are. I do think that you should stay the night. You will beat my son there by a night even if you do. He would get there the same day but would want to rest the night. After I show you where the inn is I am going to depart. It may be a journey of days but it is made in joy. I may not say more on the matter at this moment." With that, Thranduil stopped the conversation. Aragorn tried to start it up again but Thranduil dismissed the idea by insisting that they must hurry.
PLEASE READ AND REVIEW!!!!