Hi!
I'm back again. As always, big thanks to my reviewers; just wanted to say that I love you guys, you keep me going.
A helpful comment: I picture Nohemy to look very much like Salma Hayek, with her funny accent and all.
Now on to chapter 28. Gosh! I can't believe I've actually written 28 chapters already!
CHAPTER 28
NOHEMY AND THE PEOPLE OF THE GRAY CLIFFS
Arwen, who had been semi-hidden behind a tree, came fully to view and cleared her throat to be acknowledged; feeling that both Legolas and the wild woman had ignored her for quite a long time.
"Ahem!"
Nohemy immediately diverted her eyes from Legolas and focused on the new creature that came to her sight. She gasped in surprise and went running to her, which caused Arwen to freeze, wishing she had stayed behind the tree.
Nohemy stopped right in front of her, only inches away; and looked at her with eyes big as plates.
"Another elf" - whispered the shorter woman, her voice filled with awe. Then, as she raised her hand to touch the elf's fascinating features, Arwen stiffened, nervous and uncomfortable with the unexpected contact, but following Legolas example, she decided not to move. Nohemy traced her jaw line with two fingers, and Arwen noted how the skin on her fingers was rough - "Archer's hands" - she thought to herself.
"You are so beautiful, I've never seen..." - but she felt short of words, unable even to praise Arwen's serene, ethereal beauty.
"Thank you" - Arwen said, without much emotion.
Nohemy turned around again, looking at Legolas, and then her eyes wandered back to Arwen - "Are you mates?"
"No" - "Yes" - said the elves at the same time. Legolas said yes, Arwen said no. Nohemy looked at them confused, unsure of what to believe. Legolas glared at Arwen, trying to prevent her from saying anything else, but Arwen only glared back, and obviously against Legolas wishes, she explained everything to the southern girl.
"He is my escort" - she said proudly, her eyes defying Legolas, who was fuming with anger.
Nohemy gave them a skeptical look - "Aha, and were is he escorting you?"
Legolas gave Arwen a genuine panic look, and opened his mouth to answer the question, but Arwen cut him off - "We are going to Gondor, I am Arwen, Queen of Gondor."
Nohemy's features hardened at the mention of Gondor. - "Gondor eh? My people are not very fond of Gondorians." - she said while backing away from the couple.
Legolas slapped his forehead, furious at the outcome of Arwen's stiff- necked attitude. And Arwen finally understood Legolas worried looks, and decided to leave the talk to him.
Nohemy looked up at Legolas's steady gaze, trying to find an answer to her confusion. Could she trust these strangers? Her elders had always warned her from the people of Gondor, saying that they were cruel and hated their tribe. But upon looking at Legolas' sincere eyes, she found an answer.
"Don't worry, I still want to help you." - she said with her melodic accent, and Legolas sighed relieved.
"Thank you."
"Oh! And I wont tell my people that you are Gondorians; you see, they wouldn't understand, and would probably want to harm you. But not to worry, I will protect you, and we will say that you are going to Ithilien. Agree?" - she said looking at both.
Legolas responded - "Agree! And thank you so much, Nohemy."
"Don't mention it. Now let's get going! I want to reach my city before dusk"
Legolas nodded and picked up the already death deer, placing it effortlessly atop of his shoulders. Arwen picked up Legolas' lance and the three of them started walking into the forest, Nohemy leading the group.
"You seem to know your way around this territory. Do you hunt in this forest regularly?" - said Legolas, trying to make small talk with the southern woman.
"Yes, ever since my mate died; I have to hunt for my sick father and for myself."
"I am sorry to hear that."
"Thank you"
They kept walking northbound, and Legolas wondered about this city she spoke about; for when he stood on the Shadow Mountains and gazed upon Nurn, he couldn't see anything that even nearly resembled a city.
Arwen, who had been walking right behind them in perfect silence, finally decided to speak to him, in elvish, so Nohemy could not understand.
******* " Can I speak now?" ********
*******" I don't see why not; except if you are going to keep ruining things" ***********
******* "Well, excuse me! How could I know that this...people hate Gondor? Besides, I don't see why we are detouring here anyway. What is it with your zeal to follow this stranger? I personally think that it is a waste of precious time" ************
****** " Well, first of all it happens that I know much about the ways of southern people, and one of the things I learned is that they consider it a serious insult when someone rejects their hospitality. Believe me, last thing we need is a tribe of angry savages following us in a land we barely know. Second of all, if she can provide us with horses and provisions, we stand a way better chance to fulfill this journey than with empty hands. And third of all, you should just let me manage this, since you lack knowledge of this people's ways."********
******** "Fine, you do the talking. But I don't see why you are so mad at me"**********
Legolas could barely retain a sarcastic glare ******* "You don't see why? Well, besides that you have been treating me like dirt the whole day; is just that your attitude can get us both killed; especially your eagerness to say that I am just your 'escort'.**********
********* "What is with that anyway? Why did you want her to believe that we are 'mates'? Did you want me to lie?***********
Legolas stopped right in front of her and faced her, he just couldn't take anymore ******** "It is your security we are talking about here Arwen; and yes, if I have to lie to protect you, then I will" ******
****** "But, protect me from what? I don't see why you should lie about being mates" *******
****** "You can be so naïve at times. Listen to me; you are very, very attractive and desirable. The southern men are very, very lustful. I fear that when these men come to see you, they'll want to 'have' you. You see, they wont respect you; they don't respect females, at least not in this aspect. When they want a woman, they just take her, no matter the place or the situation. But they do respect life-bonds, and they respect what you and I call 'marriage'. But I assure you that they wont respect a simple escort, which is what I happen to be for you" **********
******** "Well, I didn't know anything about that. And stop that resentful attitude of yours. So what if I called you my escort? Isn't that what you are?" **********
******** " Yes, I guess that is what I am " ****** The tone of his voiced revealed just how hurt he was, and frankly he was starting to loose his patience.
"Hey you two! What is it that you are arguing about so much? I can't understand a word you are saying, but I can definitely see that you are very mad at each other" - Nohemy's voice reminded them that they weren't alone.
"Stop it and move on! We are just about to get to my city, and it is not wise to speak violently in front of my people, specially if they don't know what is being said." - Legolas and Arwen exchanged embarrassed looks and continued to follow her.
The forest was very dense at this point, and Legolas started to wonder if this woman wasn't crazy - "How could there be a city here? " - he thought concerned.
Then, he heard a steady rumble ahead of them, like the sound of many waters. And as they advanced a few meters ahead, the origin of this sound was revealed. They came out from the lush vegetation to find a canyon, narrow but deep, cut sharply in the middle of the forest, surrounded on both sides by tall trees that secluded it from the rest of the world. At its bottom, a mighty river flowed down thru the many gray rocks that covered its steep channel.
Nohemy lead them to an ample, rock stairway that descended into the canyon; and as they were going down, the location of the city was finally revealed, as they saw many constructions that hung from the walls of the gray cliffs. The city was formed by narrow, simple buildings, which were carved out of the gray rock. They hung from sharp ridges in the steep cliffs, and were communicated by rope bridges that hung precariously between the buildings.
The first construction, which they were descending to, was the largest, and was big enough to hold a small, open square. Right at the entrance of the square Legolas could see a barn-like building that extended to the right, and was well secured in the large ridge that embedded it. As they passed the entrance, he saw several horses inside and knew that it was their stable; and he wondered how they could teach the horses to go down those steep stairs.
Then, they finally reached the open square, which was crowded with Nohemy's countrymen, who at first didn't notice the newly arrived visitors. A boy was playing near the entrance of the square, and Nohemy stepped forward and called him.
"Manu! Come here boy!" - the boy came to her, and after greeting her, he focused his attention on the strangers behind his friend.
"Who are these?" - he said amused, his tiny black eyes fixed on the tall warrior in front of him. Legolas greeted him with a smile, and Arwen nodded to him courtly. The boy stood there for endless minutes, his mouth half open in sheer surprise, but his friend's voice woke him out of his trance.
"Manu! I need you to go find Kron, bring him here, right now" - Nohemy said. The boy dropped the wooden sword he had been playing with, and took of running, not without glancing one last time at the fascinating couple he had just met; then, he disappeared among the crowd.
It was then that one of the men noticed the strangers in his city - "Hey! Who are those people?" - he said, loud enough for the rest of his friends to listen. And in the blink of an eye, Legolas and Arwen found themselves completely surrounded by the people of the gray cliffs.
To be honest, they didn't look friendly at all. They were all bearded; their bodies weren't very tall, but they looked very sturdy, with broad shoulders and massive arms and hands. Their skin was not dark, but tanned like Nohemy's, and their hair was in most of the cases black, some heads sporting the same reddish tone of Nohemy's locks. Legolas dropped the deer and prepared himself for the worst.
The men began questioning Nohemy - "Who are these strangers you brought here?" - said a man covered with leather garments, a maze firmly held in his huge hands.
"They are travelers in need of our help. And in case you haven't noticed, they are elves, going to the land if Ithilien"
The crowd let out gasps and expressions of surprise at the mention of the word 'elves'. But they quickly gathered themselves and continued piercing them with their cold, black eyes.
Then, many of the men regarded Arwen, and started mumbling of her between themselves. Arwen felt menaced as many eyes were fixed on her, and started to panic as she saw the unholy stares they were giving her. The men's spirits began to heat up, and soon enough they were shouting and gesturing to her in ways which are too vulgar to describe here. Arwen shrunk; loosing the royal pose she had earlier, and wished to be far away from that place.
"Look at that peace of meat! I sure would like to sink my teeth in those thighs!"
The biggest men began fighting with each other, arguing on who got the right to have her first - "I claim her for me first! I don't want her to be used by you filthy animals!!"
"NO, I want her first!" - their angry shouts made Arwen flinch with disgust and fear, and she grimaced as some of the men began advancing towards her. But then, a tall figure stood between her and the lusty men, as Legolas took a step forward and stood menacingly in front of her.
"You would have to kill me before you could even touch her!! Step back!" - he said with firm voice. Some of the men stopped their advances, but most of them just laughed at Legolas' bravado.
"So, you say that all we need is crack your skull open and then we can have some fun with the lady here. That can be arranged pretty boy! It just means more fun for us." - the man with the maze looked at him with a self-secure smirk. At that moment, many arrows and lances were pointed at Legolas' head, but he remained dauntless and didn't move an inch from his protective stance.
"Hey! Wait a minute. I kind of like pretty boy too; look at that hair of his, and that pretty face; and look at all that muscle, he must be tight as a virgin!" - An over-haired man with ugly, yellow teeth said.
"Yeah! I wouldn't mind having some fun with him also, he is prettier than any woman I've ever seen!" - many comments and laughs were heard in the crowd, and they renewed their advance. - "Get him!"
But just then, Nohemy came from behind, and while pushing Arwen into Legolas arms, she shouted angrily to her countrymen.
"What is the matter with you??!! You are acting like beasts! Don't you respect guests anymore?"
They frowned at her. - "You said they need our help; well I say that they must pay for it!!"
The motion was cheered by the mob, who shot deadly looks to Nohemy's attempt to protect the strangers. Terrified, Arwen clung to Legolas tightly, forgetting about the distance she was supposed to keep from him; Legolas felt her fear, and wrapped an arm protectively around her shoulders.
Nohemy continued her defense - "NO! You cannot touch them; they are...They are.... Life mates. Don't you see? You must respect their bond." - she lied.
At the mention of this, many of the men dropped their weapons and stepped back with a disappointed gesture; they respected the tradition. But some of them didn't mind the traditions, and kept advancing towards the elves. Nohemy tried to stand in their way, but was violently pushed to a side by the man with the maze, who was leading the remaining aggressors. Upon reaching the elves, he lifted up his maze and let it fall upon Legolas; but Legolas pushed Arwen to a side and dodged the blow, sending an immediate, devastating kick to the man's ribcage. The man fell on his knees, defeated; but soon enough, another attacker came onto Legolas, brandishing a pointy lance. He pushed the lance towards him, clearly intending to pierce him from side to side; but Legolas dodged yet again, and grabbed the lance tightly, snatching it from the dumfounded man. He twirled the lance with one hand and whacked the man in the head, sending him unconscious to the ground.
Three more man attacked, and Legolas, who had a way to fight with lances, disabled the three of them with quick, calculated blows to their heads. Then, the whole group launched against him yelling madly; and Legolas took a few steps backward, but as he clenched his fists around the lance readying for battle, a loud shout came from behind and everybody froze in place and went silent.
The crowd dispersed and a massive man appeared from the back of the square. He was almost as tall as Legolas, and he had an enormous head, covered with a thick, reddish mane. He wasn't old, but the balding spot on his forehead revealed his venerability and experience. His face was tough and weather- beaten, covered with a thick, pointy beard; and his black eyes held an authority Legolas had seen seldom in his life. His head was rested on an equally massive body, broad and covered with reddish body-hair, which gave him the appearance of a wild bear.
Nohemy got up and ran to his side - "Kron! You have to control these animals, they are not respecting the traditions"
The tribe leader came close to the elves, analyzing them with his piercing eyes - "Nohemy, you say they are going to Ithilien?"
"Yes" - answered the woman.
The man sighed thoughtfully - "And they are life-mates?"
"Y,..yes"
"Hmmm, then they shall be respected" - he turned around facing the expecting crowd, and spoke to them with thunderous voice - "You, heated dogs! Since when do you not respect the traditions that have kept us alive for so many years? These people are our guests, and whoever tries to harm them, or mistreat them will face my wrath. Understood?"
The once mocking mob dropped their heads in shame and walked away from the place; apparently this Kron had the last word. Then, he turned around his huge body and spoke to his guests cordially.
"I apologize for their behavior. There are not used to have visitors" - he looked closely at the couple - "Elves eh? And you are going to Ithilien? I heard there are no elves left in Ithilien, I heard there are no elves left in Middle Earth"
Legolas stepped forward and bowed down - "I thank you Lord for your hospitality. We are elves indeed, and we are traveling to land of Ithilien to make our journey to the undying lands, as the last of our people left in Middle Earth."
"I see" - said the tribe leader; then he focused his attention in Legolas' tattooed arms - "Harbektu signs! What does an elf do with the Harbektu's most honored warrior symbols all over his arms?"
Legolas swallowed nervously - "There was a war, Sir. A great army of Orcs and other foul creatures arose in the lands of Kand and Harad, stirred by the will of Sauron. The lack of my countrymen forced me to ally with the Harbektu, in order to fight this new darkness, and they honored me with these signs of courage."
Kron looked at him skeptically, but then his face brightened - "Harbektu eh? Great warriors; the best I've ever seen. They helped me when I was migrating from the Bay of Belfalas into this territory with my family, before this city was established. Well dear elf, if they embraced you as a friend, so do I; you are welcome to stay as long as you need, and we'll provide you with whatever you need to complete your journey" - he said, while patting Legolas' back cordially. Legolas sighed relieved and thanked him.
The man started laughing with his deep, guttural voice - " Ha! Now I see how you could dispatch 5 of my best hunters with only a lance. You are truly a magnificent warrior" - he said merrily, while mimicking Legolas' combat movements with his huge body - "Oh! I am too old to even try doing that" - he said grinning. Then he regained his composure and spoke to Nohemy, who was rubbing her rear end; that still hurt from the fall provoked by her countryman violent push.
"Nohemy, take our guests to my home, I shall be their host. Tell my woman to prepare a nice meal for them, and to give them a clean, warm room to spend the night. Also, tell my son to make arrangements to give them two of our horses and provisions for their trip, and to keep everything ready for whenever they want to leave."
"Yes Kron, thank you" - she said bowing.
Kron looked at Arwen and smiled to her flirtatiously - "I hope you'll be comfortable at my place, fair lady; it honors me to have my humble home graced with your beauty." - Arwen reckoned that he was being polite, and quite charming for a man of his education, but she could only smile back nervously. Kron seemed to think that this was enough, and turning around, he walked to a building in the back of the square.
"And Nohemy!" - he said without turning around - "Take that deer to your house, I don't want it to rot in the middle of my square; and give my greetings to your father." - with that, he disappeared behind the doors of a place that could be named a gray cliff's version of a tavern.
Arwen, Legolas and Nohemy looked sheepishly at each other and let out a well-deserved sigh of relief - "Well, I guess we better get going" - said Nohemy, still rubbing her sore behind. Legolas got closet to her and placing a hand over her shoulder, he asked concerned - "Are you well? That was a nasty push you received"
"I'll survive" - she said grinning. Legolas squeezed her shoulder lightly
"Thank you" - he said sincerely, looking into her ebony eyes - "You risked much for us today"
Nohemy blushed - "Don't think of it, it was just the right thing to do." - she said, while looking back at Legolas with dreamy eyes.
Arwen frowned at the obvious flirtatious display, but given the events, she decided to ignore it.
"Well, let's get going; I think we better take the deer to my house first, and then I'll take you to Kron's place" - Nohemy said, snapping out of her enthrallment with Legolas' impossibly blue eyes.
Legolas nodded simply and went to pick up the said deer. Then the three of them walked to one of the rope bridges. As they walked, Arwen grabbed Legolas' arm possessively, which startled him, specially with the cold treatment she had been giving him lately; but he didn't protest, or questioned her, being that the gesture was alright with our elven hero.
......................................
In the darkness of the Lonely Mountain's caves, at the north boundaries of Mirkwood, a blackened spirit hovered enraged, looking desperately for revenge. Finally, in the deepest, darkest, foulest cave the spirit found what he had been looking for.
In the middle of the humid cave, an enormous figure rested peacefully. It was an evil that had been sleeping there since the First Age, unbothered. But now, the spirit started stirring the creature's stone heart, and speaking ancient curses and sorceries into it's primitive mind. The horror of the Dark Speech of Mordor filled every corner of the cave, and even if the spirit's voice was weak, it was also cold, and demanding.
The deep darkness was suddenly broken by an amber glow, as one of the creature's yellow, lizard-like eyes opened slowly. Its nostrils flared and snorted, lifting the ancient dust of the cave; and the creature stretched and lifted up its long neck.
It's membranous wings extended, and the creature stood on its four limbs, feeling the ground below with its sharp claws. Then, with a single push of its powerful limbs and the strength of its wings, the creature launched upwards, completely destroying the cave that harbored it for thousands of years.
One of the sides of the Lonely Mountain seemed to explode with an incredible force, and half of the mountain collapsed as the beast came out of its prison with a loud roar, leaving a trail of devastation behind its violent advance.
The creature elevated high over the destroyed mountain, moving its monstrous wings slowly; and under the dim light of sundown, its solid scales shone bright like flames of doom, unmistakably revealing the identity of the creature. It was a winged dragon that had fallen asleep after being wounded while serving Morgoth in the fatidic attack on Gondolin during the First Age, its name was Smong.
Led by the dark spirit, Smong turned south and started advancing towards its target, which was only a few hours away at Smong's pace: The White City of MinasTirith, in the realm of Gondor.
Hovering along with the beast, and while still whispering foul words into its mind, Sauron smiled pleased.
................................
Well, there you go; I hope you are enjoying this as much as I am, remember to leave a comment, and tell me how I'm doing so far.
Next chapters are going to be very exciting, as we are about to reach the climax of the story so be prepared.
Also, I wanted to say that if you'd like to, I could send you an E-mail alert each time I post a new chapter. You just have to leave a small note in your review, along with your E-mail address.
Thanks again
Elwe.
I'm back again. As always, big thanks to my reviewers; just wanted to say that I love you guys, you keep me going.
A helpful comment: I picture Nohemy to look very much like Salma Hayek, with her funny accent and all.
Now on to chapter 28. Gosh! I can't believe I've actually written 28 chapters already!
CHAPTER 28
NOHEMY AND THE PEOPLE OF THE GRAY CLIFFS
Arwen, who had been semi-hidden behind a tree, came fully to view and cleared her throat to be acknowledged; feeling that both Legolas and the wild woman had ignored her for quite a long time.
"Ahem!"
Nohemy immediately diverted her eyes from Legolas and focused on the new creature that came to her sight. She gasped in surprise and went running to her, which caused Arwen to freeze, wishing she had stayed behind the tree.
Nohemy stopped right in front of her, only inches away; and looked at her with eyes big as plates.
"Another elf" - whispered the shorter woman, her voice filled with awe. Then, as she raised her hand to touch the elf's fascinating features, Arwen stiffened, nervous and uncomfortable with the unexpected contact, but following Legolas example, she decided not to move. Nohemy traced her jaw line with two fingers, and Arwen noted how the skin on her fingers was rough - "Archer's hands" - she thought to herself.
"You are so beautiful, I've never seen..." - but she felt short of words, unable even to praise Arwen's serene, ethereal beauty.
"Thank you" - Arwen said, without much emotion.
Nohemy turned around again, looking at Legolas, and then her eyes wandered back to Arwen - "Are you mates?"
"No" - "Yes" - said the elves at the same time. Legolas said yes, Arwen said no. Nohemy looked at them confused, unsure of what to believe. Legolas glared at Arwen, trying to prevent her from saying anything else, but Arwen only glared back, and obviously against Legolas wishes, she explained everything to the southern girl.
"He is my escort" - she said proudly, her eyes defying Legolas, who was fuming with anger.
Nohemy gave them a skeptical look - "Aha, and were is he escorting you?"
Legolas gave Arwen a genuine panic look, and opened his mouth to answer the question, but Arwen cut him off - "We are going to Gondor, I am Arwen, Queen of Gondor."
Nohemy's features hardened at the mention of Gondor. - "Gondor eh? My people are not very fond of Gondorians." - she said while backing away from the couple.
Legolas slapped his forehead, furious at the outcome of Arwen's stiff- necked attitude. And Arwen finally understood Legolas worried looks, and decided to leave the talk to him.
Nohemy looked up at Legolas's steady gaze, trying to find an answer to her confusion. Could she trust these strangers? Her elders had always warned her from the people of Gondor, saying that they were cruel and hated their tribe. But upon looking at Legolas' sincere eyes, she found an answer.
"Don't worry, I still want to help you." - she said with her melodic accent, and Legolas sighed relieved.
"Thank you."
"Oh! And I wont tell my people that you are Gondorians; you see, they wouldn't understand, and would probably want to harm you. But not to worry, I will protect you, and we will say that you are going to Ithilien. Agree?" - she said looking at both.
Legolas responded - "Agree! And thank you so much, Nohemy."
"Don't mention it. Now let's get going! I want to reach my city before dusk"
Legolas nodded and picked up the already death deer, placing it effortlessly atop of his shoulders. Arwen picked up Legolas' lance and the three of them started walking into the forest, Nohemy leading the group.
"You seem to know your way around this territory. Do you hunt in this forest regularly?" - said Legolas, trying to make small talk with the southern woman.
"Yes, ever since my mate died; I have to hunt for my sick father and for myself."
"I am sorry to hear that."
"Thank you"
They kept walking northbound, and Legolas wondered about this city she spoke about; for when he stood on the Shadow Mountains and gazed upon Nurn, he couldn't see anything that even nearly resembled a city.
Arwen, who had been walking right behind them in perfect silence, finally decided to speak to him, in elvish, so Nohemy could not understand.
******* " Can I speak now?" ********
*******" I don't see why not; except if you are going to keep ruining things" ***********
******* "Well, excuse me! How could I know that this...people hate Gondor? Besides, I don't see why we are detouring here anyway. What is it with your zeal to follow this stranger? I personally think that it is a waste of precious time" ************
****** " Well, first of all it happens that I know much about the ways of southern people, and one of the things I learned is that they consider it a serious insult when someone rejects their hospitality. Believe me, last thing we need is a tribe of angry savages following us in a land we barely know. Second of all, if she can provide us with horses and provisions, we stand a way better chance to fulfill this journey than with empty hands. And third of all, you should just let me manage this, since you lack knowledge of this people's ways."********
******** "Fine, you do the talking. But I don't see why you are so mad at me"**********
Legolas could barely retain a sarcastic glare ******* "You don't see why? Well, besides that you have been treating me like dirt the whole day; is just that your attitude can get us both killed; especially your eagerness to say that I am just your 'escort'.**********
********* "What is with that anyway? Why did you want her to believe that we are 'mates'? Did you want me to lie?***********
Legolas stopped right in front of her and faced her, he just couldn't take anymore ******** "It is your security we are talking about here Arwen; and yes, if I have to lie to protect you, then I will" ******
****** "But, protect me from what? I don't see why you should lie about being mates" *******
****** "You can be so naïve at times. Listen to me; you are very, very attractive and desirable. The southern men are very, very lustful. I fear that when these men come to see you, they'll want to 'have' you. You see, they wont respect you; they don't respect females, at least not in this aspect. When they want a woman, they just take her, no matter the place or the situation. But they do respect life-bonds, and they respect what you and I call 'marriage'. But I assure you that they wont respect a simple escort, which is what I happen to be for you" **********
******** "Well, I didn't know anything about that. And stop that resentful attitude of yours. So what if I called you my escort? Isn't that what you are?" **********
******** " Yes, I guess that is what I am " ****** The tone of his voiced revealed just how hurt he was, and frankly he was starting to loose his patience.
"Hey you two! What is it that you are arguing about so much? I can't understand a word you are saying, but I can definitely see that you are very mad at each other" - Nohemy's voice reminded them that they weren't alone.
"Stop it and move on! We are just about to get to my city, and it is not wise to speak violently in front of my people, specially if they don't know what is being said." - Legolas and Arwen exchanged embarrassed looks and continued to follow her.
The forest was very dense at this point, and Legolas started to wonder if this woman wasn't crazy - "How could there be a city here? " - he thought concerned.
Then, he heard a steady rumble ahead of them, like the sound of many waters. And as they advanced a few meters ahead, the origin of this sound was revealed. They came out from the lush vegetation to find a canyon, narrow but deep, cut sharply in the middle of the forest, surrounded on both sides by tall trees that secluded it from the rest of the world. At its bottom, a mighty river flowed down thru the many gray rocks that covered its steep channel.
Nohemy lead them to an ample, rock stairway that descended into the canyon; and as they were going down, the location of the city was finally revealed, as they saw many constructions that hung from the walls of the gray cliffs. The city was formed by narrow, simple buildings, which were carved out of the gray rock. They hung from sharp ridges in the steep cliffs, and were communicated by rope bridges that hung precariously between the buildings.
The first construction, which they were descending to, was the largest, and was big enough to hold a small, open square. Right at the entrance of the square Legolas could see a barn-like building that extended to the right, and was well secured in the large ridge that embedded it. As they passed the entrance, he saw several horses inside and knew that it was their stable; and he wondered how they could teach the horses to go down those steep stairs.
Then, they finally reached the open square, which was crowded with Nohemy's countrymen, who at first didn't notice the newly arrived visitors. A boy was playing near the entrance of the square, and Nohemy stepped forward and called him.
"Manu! Come here boy!" - the boy came to her, and after greeting her, he focused his attention on the strangers behind his friend.
"Who are these?" - he said amused, his tiny black eyes fixed on the tall warrior in front of him. Legolas greeted him with a smile, and Arwen nodded to him courtly. The boy stood there for endless minutes, his mouth half open in sheer surprise, but his friend's voice woke him out of his trance.
"Manu! I need you to go find Kron, bring him here, right now" - Nohemy said. The boy dropped the wooden sword he had been playing with, and took of running, not without glancing one last time at the fascinating couple he had just met; then, he disappeared among the crowd.
It was then that one of the men noticed the strangers in his city - "Hey! Who are those people?" - he said, loud enough for the rest of his friends to listen. And in the blink of an eye, Legolas and Arwen found themselves completely surrounded by the people of the gray cliffs.
To be honest, they didn't look friendly at all. They were all bearded; their bodies weren't very tall, but they looked very sturdy, with broad shoulders and massive arms and hands. Their skin was not dark, but tanned like Nohemy's, and their hair was in most of the cases black, some heads sporting the same reddish tone of Nohemy's locks. Legolas dropped the deer and prepared himself for the worst.
The men began questioning Nohemy - "Who are these strangers you brought here?" - said a man covered with leather garments, a maze firmly held in his huge hands.
"They are travelers in need of our help. And in case you haven't noticed, they are elves, going to the land if Ithilien"
The crowd let out gasps and expressions of surprise at the mention of the word 'elves'. But they quickly gathered themselves and continued piercing them with their cold, black eyes.
Then, many of the men regarded Arwen, and started mumbling of her between themselves. Arwen felt menaced as many eyes were fixed on her, and started to panic as she saw the unholy stares they were giving her. The men's spirits began to heat up, and soon enough they were shouting and gesturing to her in ways which are too vulgar to describe here. Arwen shrunk; loosing the royal pose she had earlier, and wished to be far away from that place.
"Look at that peace of meat! I sure would like to sink my teeth in those thighs!"
The biggest men began fighting with each other, arguing on who got the right to have her first - "I claim her for me first! I don't want her to be used by you filthy animals!!"
"NO, I want her first!" - their angry shouts made Arwen flinch with disgust and fear, and she grimaced as some of the men began advancing towards her. But then, a tall figure stood between her and the lusty men, as Legolas took a step forward and stood menacingly in front of her.
"You would have to kill me before you could even touch her!! Step back!" - he said with firm voice. Some of the men stopped their advances, but most of them just laughed at Legolas' bravado.
"So, you say that all we need is crack your skull open and then we can have some fun with the lady here. That can be arranged pretty boy! It just means more fun for us." - the man with the maze looked at him with a self-secure smirk. At that moment, many arrows and lances were pointed at Legolas' head, but he remained dauntless and didn't move an inch from his protective stance.
"Hey! Wait a minute. I kind of like pretty boy too; look at that hair of his, and that pretty face; and look at all that muscle, he must be tight as a virgin!" - An over-haired man with ugly, yellow teeth said.
"Yeah! I wouldn't mind having some fun with him also, he is prettier than any woman I've ever seen!" - many comments and laughs were heard in the crowd, and they renewed their advance. - "Get him!"
But just then, Nohemy came from behind, and while pushing Arwen into Legolas arms, she shouted angrily to her countrymen.
"What is the matter with you??!! You are acting like beasts! Don't you respect guests anymore?"
They frowned at her. - "You said they need our help; well I say that they must pay for it!!"
The motion was cheered by the mob, who shot deadly looks to Nohemy's attempt to protect the strangers. Terrified, Arwen clung to Legolas tightly, forgetting about the distance she was supposed to keep from him; Legolas felt her fear, and wrapped an arm protectively around her shoulders.
Nohemy continued her defense - "NO! You cannot touch them; they are...They are.... Life mates. Don't you see? You must respect their bond." - she lied.
At the mention of this, many of the men dropped their weapons and stepped back with a disappointed gesture; they respected the tradition. But some of them didn't mind the traditions, and kept advancing towards the elves. Nohemy tried to stand in their way, but was violently pushed to a side by the man with the maze, who was leading the remaining aggressors. Upon reaching the elves, he lifted up his maze and let it fall upon Legolas; but Legolas pushed Arwen to a side and dodged the blow, sending an immediate, devastating kick to the man's ribcage. The man fell on his knees, defeated; but soon enough, another attacker came onto Legolas, brandishing a pointy lance. He pushed the lance towards him, clearly intending to pierce him from side to side; but Legolas dodged yet again, and grabbed the lance tightly, snatching it from the dumfounded man. He twirled the lance with one hand and whacked the man in the head, sending him unconscious to the ground.
Three more man attacked, and Legolas, who had a way to fight with lances, disabled the three of them with quick, calculated blows to their heads. Then, the whole group launched against him yelling madly; and Legolas took a few steps backward, but as he clenched his fists around the lance readying for battle, a loud shout came from behind and everybody froze in place and went silent.
The crowd dispersed and a massive man appeared from the back of the square. He was almost as tall as Legolas, and he had an enormous head, covered with a thick, reddish mane. He wasn't old, but the balding spot on his forehead revealed his venerability and experience. His face was tough and weather- beaten, covered with a thick, pointy beard; and his black eyes held an authority Legolas had seen seldom in his life. His head was rested on an equally massive body, broad and covered with reddish body-hair, which gave him the appearance of a wild bear.
Nohemy got up and ran to his side - "Kron! You have to control these animals, they are not respecting the traditions"
The tribe leader came close to the elves, analyzing them with his piercing eyes - "Nohemy, you say they are going to Ithilien?"
"Yes" - answered the woman.
The man sighed thoughtfully - "And they are life-mates?"
"Y,..yes"
"Hmmm, then they shall be respected" - he turned around facing the expecting crowd, and spoke to them with thunderous voice - "You, heated dogs! Since when do you not respect the traditions that have kept us alive for so many years? These people are our guests, and whoever tries to harm them, or mistreat them will face my wrath. Understood?"
The once mocking mob dropped their heads in shame and walked away from the place; apparently this Kron had the last word. Then, he turned around his huge body and spoke to his guests cordially.
"I apologize for their behavior. There are not used to have visitors" - he looked closely at the couple - "Elves eh? And you are going to Ithilien? I heard there are no elves left in Ithilien, I heard there are no elves left in Middle Earth"
Legolas stepped forward and bowed down - "I thank you Lord for your hospitality. We are elves indeed, and we are traveling to land of Ithilien to make our journey to the undying lands, as the last of our people left in Middle Earth."
"I see" - said the tribe leader; then he focused his attention in Legolas' tattooed arms - "Harbektu signs! What does an elf do with the Harbektu's most honored warrior symbols all over his arms?"
Legolas swallowed nervously - "There was a war, Sir. A great army of Orcs and other foul creatures arose in the lands of Kand and Harad, stirred by the will of Sauron. The lack of my countrymen forced me to ally with the Harbektu, in order to fight this new darkness, and they honored me with these signs of courage."
Kron looked at him skeptically, but then his face brightened - "Harbektu eh? Great warriors; the best I've ever seen. They helped me when I was migrating from the Bay of Belfalas into this territory with my family, before this city was established. Well dear elf, if they embraced you as a friend, so do I; you are welcome to stay as long as you need, and we'll provide you with whatever you need to complete your journey" - he said, while patting Legolas' back cordially. Legolas sighed relieved and thanked him.
The man started laughing with his deep, guttural voice - " Ha! Now I see how you could dispatch 5 of my best hunters with only a lance. You are truly a magnificent warrior" - he said merrily, while mimicking Legolas' combat movements with his huge body - "Oh! I am too old to even try doing that" - he said grinning. Then he regained his composure and spoke to Nohemy, who was rubbing her rear end; that still hurt from the fall provoked by her countryman violent push.
"Nohemy, take our guests to my home, I shall be their host. Tell my woman to prepare a nice meal for them, and to give them a clean, warm room to spend the night. Also, tell my son to make arrangements to give them two of our horses and provisions for their trip, and to keep everything ready for whenever they want to leave."
"Yes Kron, thank you" - she said bowing.
Kron looked at Arwen and smiled to her flirtatiously - "I hope you'll be comfortable at my place, fair lady; it honors me to have my humble home graced with your beauty." - Arwen reckoned that he was being polite, and quite charming for a man of his education, but she could only smile back nervously. Kron seemed to think that this was enough, and turning around, he walked to a building in the back of the square.
"And Nohemy!" - he said without turning around - "Take that deer to your house, I don't want it to rot in the middle of my square; and give my greetings to your father." - with that, he disappeared behind the doors of a place that could be named a gray cliff's version of a tavern.
Arwen, Legolas and Nohemy looked sheepishly at each other and let out a well-deserved sigh of relief - "Well, I guess we better get going" - said Nohemy, still rubbing her sore behind. Legolas got closet to her and placing a hand over her shoulder, he asked concerned - "Are you well? That was a nasty push you received"
"I'll survive" - she said grinning. Legolas squeezed her shoulder lightly
"Thank you" - he said sincerely, looking into her ebony eyes - "You risked much for us today"
Nohemy blushed - "Don't think of it, it was just the right thing to do." - she said, while looking back at Legolas with dreamy eyes.
Arwen frowned at the obvious flirtatious display, but given the events, she decided to ignore it.
"Well, let's get going; I think we better take the deer to my house first, and then I'll take you to Kron's place" - Nohemy said, snapping out of her enthrallment with Legolas' impossibly blue eyes.
Legolas nodded simply and went to pick up the said deer. Then the three of them walked to one of the rope bridges. As they walked, Arwen grabbed Legolas' arm possessively, which startled him, specially with the cold treatment she had been giving him lately; but he didn't protest, or questioned her, being that the gesture was alright with our elven hero.
......................................
In the darkness of the Lonely Mountain's caves, at the north boundaries of Mirkwood, a blackened spirit hovered enraged, looking desperately for revenge. Finally, in the deepest, darkest, foulest cave the spirit found what he had been looking for.
In the middle of the humid cave, an enormous figure rested peacefully. It was an evil that had been sleeping there since the First Age, unbothered. But now, the spirit started stirring the creature's stone heart, and speaking ancient curses and sorceries into it's primitive mind. The horror of the Dark Speech of Mordor filled every corner of the cave, and even if the spirit's voice was weak, it was also cold, and demanding.
The deep darkness was suddenly broken by an amber glow, as one of the creature's yellow, lizard-like eyes opened slowly. Its nostrils flared and snorted, lifting the ancient dust of the cave; and the creature stretched and lifted up its long neck.
It's membranous wings extended, and the creature stood on its four limbs, feeling the ground below with its sharp claws. Then, with a single push of its powerful limbs and the strength of its wings, the creature launched upwards, completely destroying the cave that harbored it for thousands of years.
One of the sides of the Lonely Mountain seemed to explode with an incredible force, and half of the mountain collapsed as the beast came out of its prison with a loud roar, leaving a trail of devastation behind its violent advance.
The creature elevated high over the destroyed mountain, moving its monstrous wings slowly; and under the dim light of sundown, its solid scales shone bright like flames of doom, unmistakably revealing the identity of the creature. It was a winged dragon that had fallen asleep after being wounded while serving Morgoth in the fatidic attack on Gondolin during the First Age, its name was Smong.
Led by the dark spirit, Smong turned south and started advancing towards its target, which was only a few hours away at Smong's pace: The White City of MinasTirith, in the realm of Gondor.
Hovering along with the beast, and while still whispering foul words into its mind, Sauron smiled pleased.
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Well, there you go; I hope you are enjoying this as much as I am, remember to leave a comment, and tell me how I'm doing so far.
Next chapters are going to be very exciting, as we are about to reach the climax of the story so be prepared.
Also, I wanted to say that if you'd like to, I could send you an E-mail alert each time I post a new chapter. You just have to leave a small note in your review, along with your E-mail address.
Thanks again
Elwe.