Chapter Six: Beginning the Search
Legolas awoke sharply when something big and heavy landed on his stomach. Suddenly, bright light streamed over his unadjusted eyes, and he blinked them painfully.
"Up and at 'em! We've got a biiiiig day ahead of us!" she had a backpacking pack about the size of a small VW bug slung on her shoulders, and Legolas realized that it was a twin of the object that had so rudely awakened him. "Do 'ya wanna find the way back to Mirkwood or not?"
He groaned a wordless mumble that was more eloquent that words, and rolled over, still only slightly conscious.
"Come, come! Get up! Up right now or I'll let loose Fluffy the Snake-"
"I'm up! I'm up!" He shouted, stumbling out from the pink quilts. She grinned.
"Good. There's a half-box of donuts in each of our bags in case we get hungry. Now let's find out where we're going."
~*~
"Okay, . Lord of the Rings maps. Lord of the Rings maps. Lord of the Rings maps. bingo! There's a hit! Okay, it's at a fangirl paraphernalia shop on 48 Dunston." She ran out the door, practically dragging the poor (and still barely awake) elf.
~*~
".But I don't WANT a map of Mirkwood to Gondor, I want a map to GET to MIDDLE EARTH!"
"Lady, I don't know who you are, but I will tell you this right now- there IS NO MIDDLE EARTH! It's a fantasy world! You can't get there!"
"For speculation and theory's sake! DO YOU OR DO YOU NOT HAVE ANY MAPS THAT GO TO MIDDLE EARTH OR NOT?!" The shopkeeper looked at her warily.
"As long as you don't do something. crazy. with it."
Len sighed and rubbed her temples. "Of course not. I'm just doing a project on the different ideas about fantasy worlds and I need all the reference materials I can get." She said in a tired voice, once again feeding him the same story she had repeated over twenty times already. He looked at her judiciously for a moment before stepping into the back of the store. He came out a moment later with a glass box, and he reverently lifted a small, folded piece of parchment out of it. Len reached a hand out for it and was promptly smacked.
"Don't touch!"
"How much?"
"More than you can afford."
"Just tell me how much."
The shopkeeper ran off a list of numbers longer than would fit on the map itself. Len's eyes bugged.
"Oh. my."
"What, is that too much, Len?" Legolas put in.
"That's more than I've made my entire life. that's more than I've even SEEN in my entire life."
Legolas sighed dejectedly, then spied the trodden sign on the store window and broke into a run for the apartment.
~*~
"I've never seen such perfect replicas of Middle Earthian goods." the shopkeeper said, awed. Legolas' arm cuffs, cloak, and brooch lay on the bargaining table.
"Are you sure, Legolas?" Len whispered, so the fat man couldn't hear.
"Absolutely. When I get back, I can get new ones."
"How much will you give us?"
"I. don't know."
"All of these for the map?"
"That would be quite a hefty trade."
The blond elf tossed his weapons onto the table.
"Done!"
~*~
They searched by the map for the rest of the day. It was quite hard to find landmarks such as 'bent tree where the daffodils grow' and 'old house that the retired duck farmer- note: not the current duckfarmer, but the old one, that burned down from the cow'. There are neither in New York. But with a lot of research, they managed to find what might have originally been the landmarks, as the elf slowly realized why they had brought the giant backpacks. New York was brutal. Finally, when night fell, they had discovered the last landmark and had to head back.
~~~~~~~~
A/n: sorry, readers. This chapter wasn't very eventful. I promise, though- the next chapter will be veeeeeeeeery much more action than trying to outbid fat old men in a smelly old antique shop shopped in only by obsessive fangirls (like ourselves n.~)
Legolas awoke sharply when something big and heavy landed on his stomach. Suddenly, bright light streamed over his unadjusted eyes, and he blinked them painfully.
"Up and at 'em! We've got a biiiiig day ahead of us!" she had a backpacking pack about the size of a small VW bug slung on her shoulders, and Legolas realized that it was a twin of the object that had so rudely awakened him. "Do 'ya wanna find the way back to Mirkwood or not?"
He groaned a wordless mumble that was more eloquent that words, and rolled over, still only slightly conscious.
"Come, come! Get up! Up right now or I'll let loose Fluffy the Snake-"
"I'm up! I'm up!" He shouted, stumbling out from the pink quilts. She grinned.
"Good. There's a half-box of donuts in each of our bags in case we get hungry. Now let's find out where we're going."
~*~
"Okay, . Lord of the Rings maps. Lord of the Rings maps. Lord of the Rings maps. bingo! There's a hit! Okay, it's at a fangirl paraphernalia shop on 48 Dunston." She ran out the door, practically dragging the poor (and still barely awake) elf.
~*~
".But I don't WANT a map of Mirkwood to Gondor, I want a map to GET to MIDDLE EARTH!"
"Lady, I don't know who you are, but I will tell you this right now- there IS NO MIDDLE EARTH! It's a fantasy world! You can't get there!"
"For speculation and theory's sake! DO YOU OR DO YOU NOT HAVE ANY MAPS THAT GO TO MIDDLE EARTH OR NOT?!" The shopkeeper looked at her warily.
"As long as you don't do something. crazy. with it."
Len sighed and rubbed her temples. "Of course not. I'm just doing a project on the different ideas about fantasy worlds and I need all the reference materials I can get." She said in a tired voice, once again feeding him the same story she had repeated over twenty times already. He looked at her judiciously for a moment before stepping into the back of the store. He came out a moment later with a glass box, and he reverently lifted a small, folded piece of parchment out of it. Len reached a hand out for it and was promptly smacked.
"Don't touch!"
"How much?"
"More than you can afford."
"Just tell me how much."
The shopkeeper ran off a list of numbers longer than would fit on the map itself. Len's eyes bugged.
"Oh. my."
"What, is that too much, Len?" Legolas put in.
"That's more than I've made my entire life. that's more than I've even SEEN in my entire life."
Legolas sighed dejectedly, then spied the trodden sign on the store window and broke into a run for the apartment.
~*~
"I've never seen such perfect replicas of Middle Earthian goods." the shopkeeper said, awed. Legolas' arm cuffs, cloak, and brooch lay on the bargaining table.
"Are you sure, Legolas?" Len whispered, so the fat man couldn't hear.
"Absolutely. When I get back, I can get new ones."
"How much will you give us?"
"I. don't know."
"All of these for the map?"
"That would be quite a hefty trade."
The blond elf tossed his weapons onto the table.
"Done!"
~*~
They searched by the map for the rest of the day. It was quite hard to find landmarks such as 'bent tree where the daffodils grow' and 'old house that the retired duck farmer- note: not the current duckfarmer, but the old one, that burned down from the cow'. There are neither in New York. But with a lot of research, they managed to find what might have originally been the landmarks, as the elf slowly realized why they had brought the giant backpacks. New York was brutal. Finally, when night fell, they had discovered the last landmark and had to head back.
~~~~~~~~
A/n: sorry, readers. This chapter wasn't very eventful. I promise, though- the next chapter will be veeeeeeeeery much more action than trying to outbid fat old men in a smelly old antique shop shopped in only by obsessive fangirls (like ourselves n.~)