Chapter 7 - The Last Troll
Legolas rejoined Elrond, Elladan and Aragorn after Nifael left. Elrohir had been banished to his room to rest, and Glorfindel's party had not yet returned.
Aragorn looked at him quizzically. "Is there trouble at home?"
"No, no important messages. Just Nifael, 'my Lording' me all the time!"
Elladan laughed. "I know how you feel. There was a servant here, she looked terrified every time she had to speak to me!"
"Well, you can understand that" Aragorn commented slyly.
Elladan ignored him. "I think Elrohir did something in the end - I'm not sure what, he probably tried to flirt with her. She was never the same after that!"
Legolas was intrigued. "What happened to her?" he asked.
"In the end she asked to work in the kitchens. She married one of the cooks eventually."
After waiting for Arwen and Glorfindel to arrive back at Imladris - they had no further news - Legolas returned to his room for a few hours rest. Glorfindel had been looking rather thin-lipped, but at least he was riding his own horse.
At the noon meal, Nifael appeared again, once more eager to leave to deliver his message.
"At least stay and eat. If you leave after lunch there'll still be several hours of daylight left. I'll make sure your horse is ready, and the supplies." Legolas persuaded him.
"Please, my Lord, you should not ..."
"Don't argue!"
"No, my Lord. I'm sorry, my Lord."
"Nifael, please don't .... oh, never mind!"
In addition to the message he had given Nifael, Legolas wrote a letter to his father to be delivered. He described his journey to Rivendell, crossing the ford, and the progress of the troll hunt. He gave a detailed account - as far as he could recall events - of the attack by the three trolls. He wanted to reassure his father - it was entirely possible that Thranduil had sensed something of what had happened. If so, he would have been concerned.
Nifael departed soon after the meal. He had carefully put the letter in his pack, repeated the verbal message to be sure he had it correctly memorised, and finally rode out of the courtyard. In truth, Legolas was not sorry to see him go. The youngster's constant deference and eagerness to please was exhausting.
That evening the hunting parties rode out from Imladris yet again. With only one troll left, the hunt would either be over quickly, or could take another year. Legolas knew he could not be away indefinitely, so hoped it would not be too long. He did not want to have to leave before the final battle. The night was wet, a thin drizzling rain soaking everything. Clouds veiled the stars, and a cold wind blew through the valley.
Elladan and Aragorn, and even Elrohir, had successfully argued that they were fit to join the hunting party. Elrond, however, insisted on accompanying them 'to keep an eye on them.'
Arwen too had decided to join the group - Legolas realized that she did not trust them to stay out of trouble any more than Elrond did. About an hour's travel from Imladris they came to an area Legolas had not seen before. The area they had decided to watch was a small dell, overhung by a high cliff and surrounded by trees. It was a gloomy place, where the sun rarely penetrated, but a narrow, twisting trail led through the trees and across the dell, and in the soft mud were clear tracks of a troll.
Watching alone all night could be deathly dull, so Legolas sat with Arwen against a rock below the cliff. The horses were safe beneath the trees that grew thickly all around. The night was cold, and they sat huddled in their cloaks, shielded from the wind by the sheltering rocks.
Legolas spent a pleasant few hours with Arwen, reminiscing about adventures around Imladris and in Mirkwood, and giving her a colourful account of the Battle of Five Armies.
"I don't believe it!" exclaimed Arwen. "Eagles? And bears? I suppose you'll tell me next that the wolves were on your side?"
"Wargs, not wolves. They're worse. And no, they weren't on our side" said Legolas seriously. "And there was only one bear - but it was very big! I'm sure I've got a few fangs from the wargs somewhere, souvenirs ....." He pretended to grope in a pocket on his tunic for a warg fang, causing Arwen to giggle like an elfling. Suddenly he stopped, and drew from his pocket a silver handled knife, enamelled with a design of fish and waterfalls. "Damn. I forgot I had this."
"That's Elladan's."
"Yes, I borrowed it yesterday. I'd better give it back."
Legolas pushed himself away from the rock he had been leaning against, and moved across the dell to Elladan's position. As he reached the twins, somewhere behind him he heard a low rumble. His skin prickled. Where had he heard that before?
Elladan took the knife, looking at him curiously. "What was that?" he mouthed.
"I'm not sure" Legolas whispered back, shaking his head. Then his eyes widened. He remembered where he had heard the sound before - the previous night, in the cave, the troll. He turned slowly.
The rock he and Arwen had been leaning against was moving. It got to its feet stiffly, gradually awakening.
Arwen was moving slowly, stealthily, backing away from the troll, her eyes never leaving it. She was close to its feet, and at this range it could not see her. Suddenly Alauda, her horse, sensing the troll, panicked and reared. It slipped on the soft mud, crashing against Arwen and knocking her to the ground. She fell heavily, and did not move for a moment. The troll moved forward a step, missing Arwen by inches.
Legolas was frozen in horror, but he heard Elrohir gasp, and across the dell, Elrond took a step forward. There was an anguished cry to his left.
"Arwen! No!" In seconds Aragorn was at her side. Arwen was already regaining her feet, and together they moved warily away from the troll, watching it carefully. Both had bows ready, and arrows drawn, but were too near to the troll to shoot. This close, the angle was impossibly steep. As they drew further away, the troll became aware of the small figures by its feet. It growled threateningly.
"Don't just growl at me, you brute, roar!" muttered Aragorn.
Suddenly Arwen stepped forward, shouting at it, waving her bow. The troll peered down at her and growled again. Then it opened its mouth and gave a tremendous roar. Arwen and Aragorn both fired at it, arrows lodging at the back of its throat. Simultaneously Aragorn sensed an arrow pass close over his head. He looked up, and saw it strike the troll as well. He turned to see Legolas across the clearing. He tipped his bow towards Aragorn in salute.
They watched breathlessly as the troll gave a strangled cry and collapsed, thudding to the ground at Arwen's feet.
For an instant there was silence, then the dell resounded to yells of elation, cheers and cries of triumph.
Aragorn turned to Arwen and gave her a resounding hug. "We did it! We did it!" He was ecstatic.
They looked around, laughing in delight as Elladan and Elrohir bore down on them, with Legolas in tow. Elrohir pushed Legolas against Arwen in mock disgust. "You're imbeciles! The pair of you! You were sitting against that rock for most of the night! Didn't either of you notice it was a troll?"
Arwen and Legolas exchanged a sheepish glance. "Well ..." she began.
Aragorn interrupted, puzzled. "How could it be sitting there in full view? Why wasn't it turned to stone?"
No one had an answer for that at first. Then Elrond looked up at the cliff that the troll had been resting beneath.
"It's always dark and gloomy here. This side of the dell never gets any sunlight. And here below this overhang it would be dark enough for the troll to be safe. It obviously slept during the day until nightfall."
Elladan was incredulous. "Do you mean it's been here the whole time? It can't have! Elrohir and I have ridden along this trail several times. We would have gone straight past it!"
Legolas could not resist the temptation. With a perfect intonation of Elrohir's voice he asked: "Didn't either of you notice it was a troll?"
The glare Elladan gave him was worth all the dangers they had encountered over the past few days.
They returned to Imladris, euphoric, calling out the good news to the other search parties as they passed them. At day break, as the last few hunting groups returned, they started a full scale celebration, with wine, food and song, sending out messengers to Bree and the villages around Imladris.
Legolas was impressed. Elrond could throw an impromptu celebration every bit as well as Thranduil could, and the Silvan elves of his father's kingdom were noted for their love of song and wine.
Some time later, Elrohir drew Legolas to one side. "Do you still have time to ride out to see the other stone trolls? I said I'd show you one day. Elladan and Aragorn can come as well."
Legolas considered the proposition. "We've finished here. A few more days won't matter. I'll see your trolls, then go back to Lasgalen. It's time I went home then, anyway."
"Good. We'll leave tomorrow!"
To be continued
Author's Notes: In case you didn't know, 'Skippy' was an Australian children's TV programme about a kangaroo. It was shown here in the UK in the 60s/70s. I told you I was showing my age!
Responses to reviewers:
HaloGatomon - It's always good to hear from a new reviewer. Don't worry, this story isn't quite as finished as you might think - there's a few more chapters to come.
RainyDayz - Another new reviewer! Thanks! I hope you liked the other chapters as much.
arabella thorne - and now the last troll is accounted for - but there's more adventures to come ...
Treehugger - I'm glad you liked this chapter. I don't think Elrond was very pleased about the horse. It was actually a comment in one of your reviews that inspired that scene - so thank you! This story isn't quite as close to the end as you may think, and there will be more Nifael to come - I'm glad you like him.
gemstone - I'm glad you liked Arwen's scene, and Nifael. I feel sure Arwen is just as spirited as her brothers - and we know she goes in for horse stealing!
Irishelf - I don't mind questions instead of reviews. To post a story, you have to be registered. Yes, it does cost money (I can't remember how much, but not too much.) You have options for how long you want your membership to be. Click on 'register', read the rules, then click on 'agree'. Then fill in the registration form and click on 'register' again. Follow the instructions. Good luck! If you don't have a credit/debit card account, you will have to be VERY NICE to your parents, and get them to pay for you!!
JastaElf - Yes, you know exactly what I mean by 'Skippy'! I remember 'Lassie', as well. I'm glad you like the characters, and their interaction. I mostly write book-verse, but can't resist the occasional reference to the movie! You do archery? Does my description of Legolas making his arrows sound at all real? It was entirely made up, so I hope it sounded genuine.
PuerPatty - I'm being good. No cliffhangers (again) and no injuries this time. Another person who liked Arwen's horse! As I've said before, I love to refer to the movie sometimes, even if some readers won't understand the significance of Asfaloth.
If I write about Ashia, it will probably be a free-standing story, linked, but not essential to the others.