Learning Curve

By: Alilacia

Rating: PG-13

Feedback:

Spoilers: None that I can think of.

Disclaimer:

I do not own the Lord of the Rings, or anything to do with the film or books. That honour goes to Peter Jackson (et all) and J.R.R Tolkien. I have no permission what so ever to use these characters, will not receive any money for this, and am doing this for my own enjoyment. And to get away from doing my college assignments

Series:

Mortality

Lessons

Wandering

Learning Curve

Summary:

Aragorn's planned journey to Lothlórien lead the ranger to Mirkwood where he struck up a tentative friendship with Legolas, elven prince of Mirkwood.

Now Aragorn desires to return to his home, and Legolas decides to take the journey with him.

But the journey the two princes take is anything but a quiet one…..

Mae govannen!

This is the fourth instalment in The Lennath Series. (I've finally given it a name :does little dance:) According to the site I found on the internet 'Lennath' is apparently journey's in Sindarin. I apologise if it isn't, my elvish skills are not the best in the world.

So in English it is basically 'The Journey's Series'. I decided to call it The Journey's Series, because that is basically what all the stories are about: Legolas' and Aragorn's journey's though life, and the paths it takes them on.

This is the fourth chapter of Learning Curve. I hope you enjoy it, and if there is any mistakes in it I'd be very grateful if you'd let me know. :smiles:

First I am going to make it clear that this is a NON-SLASH, so you won't be finding any relationship between Legolas and Aragorn that is any closer than brothers. I'm sorry if you don't like that, but I'm not going to make it any different.

I've decided to take a leaf out of Cassia and Siobhan's book and put all the answers to the reviews before the story rather than after it as I have done in previous chapters. If anyone does not want to read them simply bypass all the bold print. And unless you want to read them, they are quite long. The story will start though when you skip past all the bold print :sweatdrops:

I'm also running out of time, so instead of listing each review separately with usernames written, I'm going to just answer them all in one big block.

I hope this is okay, and I'll will probably end up doing this in future chapters as well.

As before, just skip past the bold print if you want to get to the story.

I'm not sure as to whether Darcyn and his parents will actually make another appearance, I guess I'll just see how things go for now.

:grins: This chapter didn't have nearly as much action when I originally wrote it. It was only when I read some of the reviews that I decided to make it better. Or worse really for the characters anyway…..

So some of you were wondering just how much worse it could get. I thought when I was re-reading it that it wasn't bad enough, so I added in some extra bits. :grins and looks for place to hide:

Well, according to the map (that I can't actually call up at the moment) I used quite extensively when writing this chapter Bree is actually closer to The Shire, yes. I tried to portray this in the time it took them to get to Bree (I said that the trip added near to seven days to their journey) and I remember Sam shouting out in the movie: "We're six days from Rivendell, he'll never make it!" when they were at the Trollshaws.

And since they hadn't quite reached Rivendell yet, in fact they were about a few hours walking from it, and they needed to head quite a bit past the Trollshaws, I decided on just under a week travelling.

I have not read the Silmarillion, or any of the other history/information books published regarding the Lord of the Rings. So I apologise if there are any mistakes in these stories. Feel free to let me know if there are. I am learning new things each day, and I owe quite a few people major thanks for some of that information.

This story isn't actually beta'd (in fact none of them have been so far) so there are probably quite a few mistakes in them.

I'm really hoping that I got some of the less well known characters (e.g. Barliman Butterbur) are right. Since I don't fully know exactly when Aragorn met Butterbur (I know they must have met prior to the LOTR's because Barliman was totally afraid of Strider in the books :grins:) and took his first trip to Bree, I'm making it now. I hope this doesn't offend anyone, and if they know the actual dates, I'd be eternally grateful if they could let me know

Namárië nin mellons

Alilacia

Learning Curve

Chapter 4 - Confrontation

Legolas' face spun sharply to the side, and the man in front of him massaged his knuckles briefly with a smirk. Legolas hardly felt the blow, it would take a lot more than that to stun him, and Legolas narrowed his eyes at the smirking human. His eyes darkened to a dark blue, and the full force of his annoyance was clear in their depths. Out of the corner of his eyes, Legolas saw Aragorn walking towards him and smiled grimly. He had no desire to hurt these men, but if they did anything more or hurt Aragorn, he would not hold himself back.

Legolas was forced to duck another punch, and raised his head as the man glared and spoke to the crowd.

"Looks like this one doesn't want to fight. Whoever heard of an elf who didn't fight." The man turned back and glared at Legolas. "Leave this place elf" he spat the words out like a curse, "your kind aren't welcome here."

Legolas eyes darkened further at the insults thrown at him and his race. And the annoyance rushed back as the man glared at his silence and threw another punch. It didn't even reach his face as Aragorn stepped in front of Legolas and stopped the punch with his hand. Aragorn's eyes glared at the man, and he scowled. He held little love for those who threatened the elves, even if they were of his own race.

Legolas cast a side glance at Aragorn, before turning back to the men. Flickers of light off metal had been catching the elf's attention ever since he had turned around, and he edged closer to Aragorn and tensed slightly when he caught the edges of several sharp knives. Each of the men had one, and Legolas wasn't about to let them actually use them. On him or his friend.

"Well, well, well, this one has a friend. And a ranger at that. You look a bit young to be a ranger." The man scowled and looked him over. "Besides... I thought rangers kept to themselves. Why did you stop me?"

Aragorn's scowl hadn't left his face, and he slowly let his hand fall from the man's fist.

"Because this one is my friend. And I do not take kindly to those who harm my friends."

Aragorn's fists clenched by his side, and Legolas turned slightly. He reached over and dropped his fingers over Aragorn's closed fingers. Legolas deliberately tipped his head down, forcing the long blond strands of his hair into his face. For all those who were watching with rapt attention in the room it looked as though the elf was telling his human friend to calm down.

Aragorn dropped his head as well, so that his own hair obstructed the view of the men, and looked up into Legolas' eyes and saw them drift downward towards the mans hands. Legolas applied a bit more pressure, and gently forced Aragorn's hands downward. All eyes were on their hands, and Aragorn made a show of scowling and slowly brought his eyes back up to face the angry human in front of them. In the moment that all had looked away from Aragorn's eyes, the ranger had quickly scanned the room. The knives that had caught Legolas' attention were barely visible, but the flickering light from the fire betrayed their position. Legolas relaxed slightly as Aragorn nodded a barely perceptible nod. Surprise was one thing the men no longer had on their side.

"You're of the race of men. What you doing making friends with the likes of him?" The man jerked his thumb at Legolas. "The elves don't mingle with us and that's how it should stay."

"I would rather it was that way too human, but there's too many of you to simply avoid you all." Legolas words were scathing, and the dislike the elf had for the race of men was imprinted on every single word. Although he had come to care for Aragorn, there was still a long way to go before he would trust them all. Especially one who insulted him.

Aragorn felt the anger around the men increase sharply at Legolas comment and almost shook his head. Legolas had a very barbed tongue when he felt he had been slighted or insulted, and was not one to hold back for anything. Further action by Aragorn or the men was stopped when Butterbur ran and faced the seething man.

"Now you listen to me Geddyn. That elf has just as much right to be here as the rest of you." Butterbur looked nervous despite his strong words, and he didn't look too pleased that the fact Legolas was an elf had been kept from him. "I'm not saying that I agree with you, I just don't want any fighting in my bar."

While this was going on, Aragorn grasped Legolas' arm and lead him away from the man. But Geddyn didn't seem to appreciate Butterbur's words, nor did he acknowledge them, and he swung for Legolas again. This time the rest of the men in the bar tried as well, and both Aragorn and Legolas had to duck punches aimed for their heads.

Legolas' eyes darkened so much they looked black, and he didn't hold back as he dodged the next fist and brought his own fist up to impact sharply with the man's nose. The man dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, and didn't bother to rise again, groaning in pain about his broken nose. The knife fell out of his hand and clattered into a darkened corner.

Legolas rounded a table, and stopped a wayward hit from reaching one of the wounded. The injured man crawled away as quickly as he could, and Legolas turned back to face the man. Geddyn stepped up beside the man and indicated the elf and then the ranger. Legolas' eyes narrowed as the man nodded, and moved to join those who were rounding on his friend.

Legolas stood still, his eyes narrowed and posture alert, as Geddyn started to circle him. Anger, and a certain amount of cocky attitude that Legolas had come to expect from the race of men, was stirring in the humans eyes; and Legolas would have sighed had the situation not been what it was.

Here was another man who had never fought against an elf before, and obviously thought that because of his slender build, Legolas would be an easy win.

Legolas couldn't wait to prove him wrong.

Calloused hands tightened around glinting steel, and Geddyn smirked as he brought the knife up to his chest. There was no outward sign of any panic from the elf, but Geddyn was going to change all that. With a slight narrowing of his eyes, Geddyn charged towards the elf.

And was startled as strong hands gripped his wrist. Geddyn struggled against the iron grip on his hands, and looked up. Fear suddenly lanced through him as the eyes that looked into his own had darkened to almost black, and Geddyn swallowed deeply. Inwardly berating himself for allowing himself to feel fear, and towards an elf no less, he struggled in the grip and tried to get his hands free.

"You'd better let go of me elf." Geddyn threatened and tried to kick the feet of the elf that has holding him.

Legolas smoothly switched his grip of the man's wrists into one hand, and easily sidestepped the intended blow. This only served to anger the man whose wrists Legolas was holding, and the elf was forced to grip tighter when the humans struggle increased.

A short cry of pain distracted Legolas' attention for a minute, and he turned to see another couple of men had been drawn into the fight as well. Fury towards the men and worry for his friend overwhelmed the elf, and he decided to end this now.

Geddyn didn't know what hit him as his wrists were suddenly released, and a sudden burst of pain spread from a single point on the side of his head. Stars rapidly span over his vision, and the man staggered before falling in a heap in the corner. With blurred vision Geddyn looked up to see the elf glancing down at him before moving off to help his friend.

Aragorn was swiftly growing tired of this and his silver eyes once again assessed the weaknesses of his opponents. The men had been constantly attacking under the impression that he had no skills what so ever, and that it would be a quick defeat. That would have been true, had Aragorn not been raised by the elves. They had taught him to fight stronger opponents than these men.

A grin quirked his lips as a slender hand landed on the shoulder of one of the men. The man spun around, an insult on his lips, and found himself face to face with Legolas' fist. The man crumpled to the floor and uncertainty shone in the eyes of those that were left. Strider move closer to Legolas and looked the men in the eyes. Bravado soon outweighed the fear and they charged. Aragorn braced himself, but was knocked back slightly as the full weight of one of the stockier men hit him.

The meaty fist came up again, and Aragorn ducked. The force of the blow glanced off his head, and was enough to throw his balance off. It took mere seconds for the ranger to collect his senses and he blinked. He saw that Legolas was managing well against the men, but more were moving to join. Apparently Geddyn had a lot of friends. The sliding of steel under his chin stopped the ranger cold and he cursed under his breath. He was supposed to be a ranger, he was supposed to notice everything that went on around him.

"I'd stop unless you want me to kill your friend." Geddyn warned as he tightened his hold on the ranger. Legolas stopped where he was, and he tensed when he saw who Geddyn was holding.

"Now then, drop your weapons." Legolas made no move to adhere to the request, and Geddyn scowled. The hand around Aragorn's neck tightened and a thin line of blood trailed down the rangers skin. "Next time I will not stop at a superficial cut." Legolas' eyes narrowed, and he wondered how it had come to this.

Aragorn glanced down at the hands that held the knife to his throat and saw that they were trembling slightly. This worried him more than the knife at his throat, and was afraid that Geddyn's hand would slip. Geddyn's breath was ragged against his neck, and he tugged on the knife again. The blade slid a little further into his neck and Aragorn hissed slightly in pain.

Legolas quickly brought his weapons out and moved to place them on the floor when he heard the slight hiss of pain. He would play along so long as Geddyn held Strider in his grasp. Geddyn nodded in approval as the elven daggers were placed in the floor. He motioned with his free hand for his men to grab Legolas. The elf put up no resistance, knowing that he could easily throw them off if he tried. All he had to do was wait.

Aragorn's eyes met him from across the room. There was a small amount of fear in them, but Legolas could see that Aragorn was not totally worried.

The glazing of Geddyn's eyes told Legolas that he was still stunned from the blow that he himself had given the human earlier. But Legolas also knew that Aragorn would have to find some way of getting himself out of Geddyn's grip. Although the elf could quite easily get out of the hands of the men that were holding him, Legolas feared that by the time he got to Aragorn, Geddyn would have attacked.

Wordless conversations flashed between the two as Geddyn started speaking to his men. Legolas nodded as he hit his elbow back into the stomach of the man holding his as fast as he could. The man groaned and doubled over, and Legolas wrenched his grip out of the other mans and neatly punched him in the stomach as well.

Geddyn turned an angry gaze onto Legolas, and his hand loosened slightly. This was all the opening Aragorn needed, and he started to lean back. Geddyn was forced to lower the knife as his balance was upset. Aragorn quickly grabbed the knife and wrenched it out of Geddyn's grip. Geddyn froze as the knife slid under his chin this time, and his eyes met Aragorn's. Annoyance, frustration, and anger were simmering under their silver depths, and Geddyn had to really work hard not to look away. Geddyn didn't know what was worse, the piercing stare of the elf, or the angry stare of the ranger.

The elf blocked several swings at his face with his arms, and gracefully ducked under each attacking man, dropped to his knees and grinned thinly as his fingers closed around the hilts to his elven daggers. Without glancing back, the elf spun the handles around in his grip, and in a single fluid move his hands returned the knives to their sheaths, before they fell to the floor and the elf swung his feet out in a low arc. The move took a matter of seconds, and caught the men by surprise. Two of the men hit the ground, and Legolas jumped cat-like to his feet.

The pair were locked in a stand-off, and the only sound was that of a body hitting the ground behind him. Unlike Geddyn, Aragorn had no desire to kill anyone, and he found himself wondering what to do. Aragorn sighed and with a final warning glance to Geddyn he motioned to Barliman. Barliman hesitated before slowly moving out of the bar, and Aragorn looked away from Geddyn to motion Barliman forward faster.

Geddyn moved quicker than Strider thought he would have been able to, and knocked the knife clean out of Aragorn's hands. It went clattering under one of the tables, and Butterbur darted back behind the bar.

Aragorn dodged Geddyn's next punch and pushed him back with his hands. The ranger had had enough of this man trying to hurt his friend simply for being an elf, and wasn't going to stand for it any more. The fact that Geddyn has also tried to kill him wasn't something the ranger had forgotten, and the anger and frustration Aragorn was feeling added weight to his blows. Ducking down and to the side to avoid Geddyn's next swing, Aragorn balled his hand into a fist and quickly struck the side of Geddyn's head. The blow dazed the man, and the next blow to his head left the man unconscious. The other men that were left didn't take kindly to the attack on Geddyn, and rounded on Aragorn. The men made one fatal mistake in that moment though. They turned their back on an annoyed elf.

A few well place hits later all the attacking men were lying in various heaps on the floor. Legolas' eyes were slowly lightening, but the fact that they hadn't returned to their normal shade of blue told Aragorn that Legolas still wasn't in the best of moods.

Butterbur sighed from where he had ducked behind the bar during the fight and gestured to some soldiers to take the men out. Ignoring the stare that Butterbur directed at them, Aragorn grabbed Legolas' arm and pulled him towards the corner where he had been working. Many of the people had gotten back to what they were doing, and some looked afraid of the skill and ease at which the ranger and the elf took down Geddyn and his friends.

Legolas and Aragorn were not worried about what Geddyn might decide to do. Aragorn knew that men were particularly bad for holding grudges, but didn't bother reflecting on it much as he started to help the soldier sitting on one of the tables. Compared to some of the things that Aragorn and Legolas had fought before, Geddyn was easy.

Aragorn ran his hand over his face and pressed his hands into his eyes. He had been working for hours now to treat all the wounded, and Aragorn was reaching the edges of his endurance. Thankfully, the steady flow of wounded had begun to ease a few hours ago, and Aragorn was relieved to see that there were very few people left to be seen to now.

That was just as well, for the ranger was starting to feel the need to sleep, and more than once Legolas had to reach out and steady the ranger when he nearly fell over. A tired healer was not a good one, and Aragorn hoped it would be over soon. He had no intention of making somebody's injuries worse because he was fatigued.

During a brief moment when there had been a welcome lull, Legolas had pulled Aragorn to the side and made him sit down for a moment. Aragorn had gotten to work right after the fight was over, and had not taken the time to see to his own injury. Legolas had glared at Aragorn until he had sat down in the chair, and got to work on bandaging the injury. As with all blades, it was a clean cut but Legolas feared that the knife might have been a dirty one. Gentle hands had cleaned the wound, and wrapped a bandage around the mans neck. Aragorn stayed still long enough for Legolas to step away, and then stared helping one of the people on the adjoining table. Legolas sighed and followed Aragorn to the new lot of wounded. That man never thought of himself…

The last of Aragorn's herbs had been used up long ago. The pair had decided not to use the herbs that Legolas carried with him in case they needed them later on. So they were forced to rely on the herbs kept here in Bree. Legolas was not familiar with most of these, but thankfully Aragorn was. A lot of the herbs that were used by the healers at Bree had been mentioned in passing during one of Elrond's lessons, and Aragorn remembered those well.

What surprised Aragorn the most was that, despite the fact that this attack was over a week ago, there were still so many people that needed to be treated. Aragorn supposed that it was purely bad timing. He had found out from one of the healers that on the week before the attack there had been a rise in the number of people staying at the Prancing Pony. Whether the attackers knew this or not, she did not know.

Another thing that hindered the treating of the injured was the sparse number of healers. Bree was very rarely attacked, and so did not see the need for healers. Luck must have been with Bree for amongst the groups choosing to stay here, there were a few healers. And with Aragorn and Legolas helping, they were making good, but arduously slow, progress.

The last person, a man with a nasty cut down his arm from one of the enemies weapons, was soon treated and Aragorn collapsed back into the chair. The urge to sleep came back stronger than ever, and it took all of his strength to open his eyes again when Legolas tugged at his arm.

"Come on human. You have been working all day." He inclined his head towards the stairs, "let's go and retire for the night."

Aragorn nodded in agreement of the elf's assessment, and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet. As soon as Aragorn walked in through the door he collapsed onto the bed that Darcyn had been lying on earlier. Legolas grinned and laid back on his own bed. The beds here, while not quite so good as the ones they remembered at home, were good enough to get a fairly decent nights sleep on. Legolas didn't bother to change his clothes, as he had no other pairs with him, and pulled the comforter over his body. He was just about to fall asleep when Strider's spoke from the bed next to him.

"I found out who attacked this village Legolas." Legolas turned in his bed, and fixed his gaze on Strider. "It was orcs. That soldier I was treating told me. Either he's just friendlier than most, or was a little afraid of me, but he answered every single question I asked him. Or, he might have been afraid of you." Aragorn sent Legolas a side-long glance and grinned. Legolas chuckled and turned back over to face the ceiling again.

"A little fear isn't always a bad thing my friend. And if it was indeed orcs like your soldier friend said, then they are probably long gone by now. But what I don't get, is why a band of orcs would attack a village, any village. It's not like it has any kind of strategic position that would be beneficial to them. It's almost like they did it for one reason. The simple joy of destruction. Senseless violence." Aragorn glanced at Legolas' troubled face before turning his own gaze to the ceiling. Like Legolas, Aragorn too was thinking about why Bree had been attacked. It was a lone village of men and hobbits, what could it serve to attack such a defenceless village?

"Let us not worry about that my friend." Aragorn grabbed the comforter as he spoke and pulled it over his body. "Such thoughts can be dwelled on in the morning with a clear head."

"That would be the best thing to do." Legolas spoke from across the room. "Good night Strider."

Aragorn chuckled and said, "Good night Legolas."

Muffled sounds of people milling about in the street below made themselves known to Aragorn's weary head and he slitted open his eyes. The thin streams of light through his comforter showed the ranger that dawn was up and he sighed quietly. He would not be going back to sleep now.

The ranger sat up in bed, and ran his hand though his hair. Legolas was still sleeping, and this surprised Aragorn. Usually Legolas was awake before the dawn.

With a quick check of the room Aragorn reattached his sword to his belt and walked almost silently out the door. It would be his turn to let Legolas sleep in now.

The first person that Aragorn saw when he walked down the stairs was Barliman Butterbur. The man was flitting around as usual, and trying to see as many people as possible in the space of a few short minutes.

Aragorn ignored him for a moment and stood by the stairs. He knew that Butterbur would get around to seeing him in a little while.

As the last of the people sat down at some tables, Butterbur finally noticed Aragorn's presence by the stairs. Butterbur sighed before walking up to the ranger.

"Good morning Strider." his eyes darted around the room one more time before settling on Strider. "Thank you for your assistance last night. It was needed greatly, and we were lucky you arrived when you did I suppose."

"That is not necessary Barliman. I was trained to help others like them, and I would do it again without hesitation if I had to." Barliman nodded and motioned to the kitchen with one of his beefy hands.

"The cooks will be serving breakfast momentarily. Would you like some?"

"That would be greatly appreciated Barliman. Thank you."

Barliman nods and went to head for the kitchen when Strider called him back. "Yes?"

"My companion is weary and is sleeping upstairs. I would appreciate it if you would not wake him."

"Of course Strider, of course." Strider nodded and moved to sit down, "but Strider... could you and your companion please not get in any more bar fights?"

Aragorn nodded, and smirked when Barliman turned away. He could never promise that, not with the views Legolas held of some men, and the tempers of the men he saw here so far meant that blows could probably be traded again.

Aragorn retreated to a dark corner of the bar and nodded his thanks to the lady who brought out his food. From this vantage point, Aragorn could see every single person that had walked into the Prancing Pony before he had been awake, and every person who might yet walk in through the doors. All the conversations rode over each other, and Aragorn let his hearing drift over each one, listening for anything of importance. His gaze and hearing noted a small group of people in the corner. They were talking in hushed voices about a land far from here, and Aragorn could only just make out the words they were saying. Aragorn's attention was caught as soon as one of them mentioned two words.

The Shire.

Aragorn had been told extensively about The Shire during his history lessons. The Hobbits, or Periannath in the elvish tongue, were a race that Aragorn had never met before, aside from his brief encounters with some of the wounded hobbits here in Bree, Aragorn had never conversed in length with one.

This largely stemmed from their distrust of the big-folk, and very few hobbits actually left the Shire. But if they did, they usually travelled here. Although... Aragorn remembered that Elrond had once told him that a hobbit frequented Rivendell from time to time. The name of this hobbit had totally left Aragorn, and he could not recall ever seeing him at Rivendell.

When the conversation suddenly turned to the orcs Aragorn started to listen again. The topic started to alarm Aragorn and he shifted forward slightly, attempting to hear what they were saying more easily. The last thing he heard before his attention was drawn to something else was that a group of orcs had been seen heading towards The Shire.

Legolas stepped lightly into the shadowy booth where Aragorn was sitting and raised his eyebrow in question. As the elf walked in he had seen the intent look on Aragorn's face, and wondered what could have caught his attention.

Another plate of food was placed on the table and Legolas nodded his thanks before turning to look at Aragorn.

Aragorn nodded in greeting as the elf sat down next to him but held his hand up to indicate silence, his gaze falling back to the group in the corner. Legolas nodded, and followed Aragorn's gaze. Legolas' elven hearing picked up each hushed word between the men. It was just as well that Aragorn had a set of elven ears listening into the conversation across the room because most of what was said was drowned out by a wave of raucous laughter from across the room. Aragorn sighed and sat back. With any luck, Legolas still heard every single word.

The pair sat in silence for the next few minutes, until the group stood from the table and made to leave. As soon as the group started to rise, Aragorn and Legolas dropped their heads, and they both started to eat again.

Not a word was exchanged as the pair finished the meal, and Legolas turned to look at Aragorn again. Curiosity shining in their blue depths. Aragorn shook his head and stood from his seat. Legolas took the hint and rose as well, following Strider out of the Prancing Pony. Strider reached into his pocket and pulled out some gold coins. They dropped onto the counter in front of Barliman's relieved face as the two strode out of the inn.

"What was that about Strider?"

Legolas was more comfortable with his new alias than Aragorn was at the moment. He made a mental note to ask Legolas just why he had been called that anyway.

"I heard them talking about The Shire." Aragorn lowered his voice, and leaned in closer to Legolas. "Apparently a group of orcs have been seen heading there. I managed to get that much just before you walked in. Then I didn't hear much due to the laughter from the other table. What did you hear?"

"There wasn't much more after that. The men said some of their scouts followed the orcs for a while and only just got back last night. That must have been several days ago Strider."

Aragorn knew that with the time it took most scouts to return, then the orc group must be further ahead. "I know, and that is what concerns me. Do you know anything about The Shire?" Aragorn asked when he saw Legolas glance at him. When Legolas shook his head he continued. "The Shire is the home of the hobbits Legolas. The Periannath."

When Legolas heard this he became shocked and concerned. Although the common name for the periannath was not known to the elven prince before now, Legolas knew that The Shire was a peaceful place. And, although the hobbits were a fierce race by nature when it was required of them, there was no way that they would be able to fight off a large group of orcs.

Turning to look Aragorn in the eyes, Legolas could see the decision written in the silver depths. Just like Aragorn helped out those people in Bree, Aragorn was not going to sit back and let some orcs attack The Shire. And neither was Legolas.

The two travellers sped up their pace, and hurried to the gates of Bree. As it was daylight they are open, and Aragorn and Legolas wasted no time in walking through them. Both were hoping that they would get to The Shire before the orcs did, but despite the speed at which they had elected to travel, the journey was taking a long time.

Time which they did not really have.